The Moose Jaw Mallards learnt a lot about themselves over the weekend as they made a trip down to Minot, North Dakota for a tournament.

The local bantam AAA squad went 1-2 over their three games on the weekend, going against some tough competition from three American teams.

“It was a learning experience for the boys,” said head coach Gord Currie.  “We won the one game pretty handily against Mandan, but the other two games we didn’t really compete, the other teams were very strong.”

The Mallards dropped their two games against Bismarck and Minot, and while playing well defensively in the two games, the team couldn’t find a way to make consistent contact with the baseball.

“The pitching that we saw, they weren’t throwing any harder than anything we’ve seen up here,” said Currie.  “I don’t know if it was the distance, the six-and-a-half feet, which is further away, that troubled our boys, but they weren’t throwing any harder at all.”

That was the other big adjustment for the Mallards was playing on a different sized field than they were use to here in Moose Jaw and around the province.  The tournament was played on a major league regulation sized diamond, but Currie said the team handled the transition well.

“Defensively there were a couple of throws that went awry, but once we got use to it, it wasn’t bad,” he said.  “Our pitchers did well, defensively the guys had to adjust on the infield especially they had to move back a bit and make that further throw, but our guys played well.

“Next year a lot of the boys move up to midget, so they’re going to be playing on that size of diamond anyway.  It was a good test for them.”

Despite not finding the success that they were hoping for in the tournament, Currie said the team is coming away happy with the experience that they gained over the weekend as they move into the second half of their season.

“We’re learning, we've got some younger kids on our team as well as some older kids, so it’s a good mix,” said Currie.  “We've played very well in some games and competed with some of the better teams in the league, and we know that compete and beat anybody in the league.

“Overall, the season is going well and we’re getting better and we know the prize is when we get to provincials and in league playoffs, so that’s what were shooting for.”

The Mallards will return to league play on Tuesday night as they travel down to Weyburn to square off with the Beavers.  First pitch is at 6:15pm.