Riverdogs ready for Best of the West

Apr 13, 2016 | 11:25 AM

KAMLOOPS — It’s the beginning of a new season for the Kamloops Riverdogs, who like last year have some young pups. There are seven returning players, but also seven new ones who they hope will develop quickly. 

“When you have that young group, there’s always that big learning curve to start the year. We’re always trying to build that confidence,” says Riverdogs manager Sean Wandler. “Offensively could be a question mark, I really don’t know where we’re going to be this year.”

The Riverdogs lost three seniors that were great hitters. Among the seven returning players who now need to step up and play a bigger role, there are three Grade 12s. 

“Vincent Daley, who will be our anchor behind the plate after we graduated our catcher. Lucas Lott, he’s been patrolling centre for a number of years now. Then Tobin Huffman, who we’re really expecting big things from off the hill. He’s been in our starting rotation. He pitched in the provincial final last year, so those guys, obviously we want to anchor the team.”

It all starts on Thursday at the Best of the West tournament in Kamloops. The Riverdogs are hoping to do something they could do last year, and that’s win a game. 

“It’s really tough,” says Daley, the Riverdogs’ starting catcher. “We bring in some quality teams from Alberta, and they always seem to be a tough match-up.”

Huffman says it’s difficult with new players coming in. 

“We’re just trying to get our team set up. We’ll see how it goes. We lost all four games last year and we ended up in the provincial final, so I’m really not concerned about our results this weekend,” says Huffman.

That is what Wandler has stressed to this year’s team. While it would be nice place high, he says the Best of the West tournament is no indication of how the season will unfold. 

“Basically as I said the guys [last year], this is who you are today but this is not the team you are going to be come July,” says Wandler. “That’s always our goal, to be a different team come July.”

The hope for the Riverdogs is to get back to where they’ve been the last two seasons – the provincial final, last year losing to Ridge Meadows.

The players says they have some unfinished business in 2016.