The Moose Jaw Minor AAA All-Stars have put in a lot of work this season to improve and it paid off last week.

Moose Jaw rolled through the competition at the Saskatchewan Little League Minor AAA Championship, including a 10-0 win over North Regina Little League in the final last Friday.

“The boys played great through the whole provincials,” said Head Coach Greg Thul this week. “We had lots of really good pitching, lots of good hitting and our fielding was awesome through the whole thing.”

In the final, Moose Jaw pitcher Max Simmons dominated the competition, striking out 11 over four shutout innings.

“He’s a machine, it’s fun to watch that little guy play,” said Thul. “He’s all business and it’s tough to catch up to him. He’s in a league of his own for sure.”

Simmons also reached base three times, scoring twice in the championship win for Moose Jaw.

The All-Stars opened with four runs in the first inning, tacked on five in the second and then one more in the third. North Regina couldn’t answer in the fourth, ending the game in a hurry.

Gerritt Gulutzan and Noah Thul also scored a pair of runs in the win. Maguire Payne, Nathan Pisio and Owen Varjassy all scored once each.

Thul said the team was prepared for the weekend and it showed.

“The boys have spent a lot of nights out on the diamond,” he said. “Definitely working on the hitting was the biggest focus, so it’s nice to see everything pay off and come through with a big win.”

The local players have shown a lot of growth throughout the season, according to Thul.

“That’s definitely the most fun part of coaching is seeing the kids advance all year long,” he said. “They’ve come along with everything, the pitching has been great and fielding, we’ve had several really nice plays throughout the year.”

Moose Jaw will now travel to Lethbridge next month for the Prairie Little League Championship from Aug. 4-7. They will get a preview of the competition at a tournament in Medicine Hat in the coming weeks.

“We’ve got five returning kids from last season and they had a pretty good outing there, so it will be interesting to see how we do,” said Thul. “Based off the way that the season has gone and with the provincial win, so we’re on a roll and it will be nice to see them play that out at Westerns in Lethbridge.”