The Grand Forks Rattlers spent this past weekend trying to earn a berth to the Cal Ripken regional tournament in Lewiston, Montana.

The local boys hosted the Cal Ripken 10 and under provincial tournament at Dick Bartlett Park on Saturday and Sunday, which consisted of themselves, Cranbrook and Langley.

The team played well but loss twice to the team from Langley – once on Saturday and again at the semifinal on Sunday.

The team felt confident going into Sunday but again Langley was too much as it defeated the locals 14-1.

“We just got beat by a better team on this day,” said Manager Dean Mandryk.

“They played strong all weekend, they’re a really good team and we wish them well in the regionals in Montana – they deserve to go.”

“We just didn’t get on the bats,” explained Mandryk.

“Unfortunately we just didn’t get them going.”

The Rattlers certainly started things off on the right foot as they defeated Cranbrook by a final of 11-5 on Saturday morning.

“The team performed great,” explained Mandryk after the win.

“Everybody was on. The bats were on, the pitching was great. In this age group you can get away with a bad inning and still get back in it at any given time.”

“The kids played well, they played like a team, they made some amazing plays from outfield to home plate.”

The story was a little different in the team’s afternoon game as they were defeated 11-1 by Langley.

“Langley came out and played strong,” explained Mandryk after the team’s second game of the tournament.

“They had a few really good hits that got through our gloves and unfortunately that was the difference. One bad inning, sometimes you can’t get back to them.”

Even though the team didn’t make the regional tournament, Mandryk says he would like to thank the team’s sponsors and supporters.

“The kids had an amazing year,” he says.