It was a successful weekend on the diamond for the Moose Jaw Ice as they hosted their annual tournament at Optimist Park. The Ice played in two finals on Sunday with the Under-16 and Under-14 teams both walking away with silver medals for their efforts.

The U16 Ice lost 9-2 to the Regina Royals in the final. The Royals had also handed Moose Jaw a 6-0 loss in the opening game of the round robin. 

Head coach Don Anderson says it comes down to experience, "We're a younger team, we've got 10 first years on the squad, so it's a process, just understanding what's needed to play at the top tier level with other U16 A teams in the province," he said.

"We played quite well, we had a few hiccups here and there but for the most part, the kids battled, especially our pitchers."

Anderson said their pitching staff threw a lot of innings over the two days. "They keep us in most games until the bats get rolling," he said. "They battled."

After losing to the Royals in their opener, the Ice bounced back with a 4-3 win over the Southeast Hawks on Saturday afternoon.

In the semifinal on Sunday morning, the Ice pulled off a 15-8 win over the Hawks to set up the rematch with the Royals, but it wasn't meant to be.

"The Royals are a top level team, they'll be a contender for the provincial title so we knew what we were up against. The younger kids were able to get a better understanding of what’s needed to play at the top level," said Anderson.

"We have to put seven full innings and you can't afford to give good teams extra outs in an inning, it's a bit of a challenge to maintain focus for seven innings, so a consistent effort for seven innings is the take away from the weekend."

The Ice will get another shot at the Royals coming up on Tuesday night when they meet in the Queen City in Regina Minor Softball League action.

The U14 Ice lost 8-1 to the Manitoba Thunder in the final on Sunday. 

The Ice had a busy Saturday in the round robin with the three games. The Ice opened with a 7-4 win over the Estevan Elite on Saturday morning, then dropped a 10-0 game to the Thunder in the afternoon and they doubled the Manitoba Angels, 8-4, in the night game.

In the semi-final on Saturday, the Ice pulled off a 4-3 win over the Elite to advance into the final.

In the Under-12 Division, the Ice lost out 12-5 to the Manitoba Angels in the semi-final on Saturday.

The Ice went 1-3 in the round robin, losing 13-10 to the Lumsden Cubs, 15-0 to the Angels and 15-3 to the Regina Saints. They picked up an 8-6 win over the Kincaid CoolCats.