Twelve minor ball teams will be hitting the local diamonds here this weekend when Cochrane Minor Ball hosts two summer league Prairie Little League Championship tournaments.

Both the Major Tier 2 and Tier 3 Prairie championships are being hosted by Cochrane and the two diamonds at the Matt Kroll Memorial Park and the Gleneagles diamond will be a flurry of activity Saturday through Monday.

Cochrane's tier 2 Major team is in the provincial championship and will be facing two teams from both Medicine Hat, and Calgary as well as entries from Regina and Brooks. They play all their round-robin games on Matt Kroll North, starting with a match against Brooks at 9 a.m. on Saturday, followed by a 3 p.m. game against Medicine Hat 2. Their final round-robin game is Sunday, 9 a.m. against Calgary Centennial before the playoff rounds begin later that afternoon.

Cochrane Ball president Corey O'How says the Crush Major team has been enjoying their season.

"They have been having a great season so far and are looking forward to playing this weekend in front of their hometown fans," says O'How.

It's only the second year in the league for the Cochrane Major team and Coach Brian Alford suspects they have surpassed the league's expectations.

The summer regular season is done in a series of weekend tournaments and the Crush went 3-1 in their final weekend of play and scored a total of 51 runs.

"We're very optimistic," says Alford. "We believe we can take on any team and have a chance for success against just about anyone so we'll see what we can do this weekend."

They played last season in a lower tier and now climbed to the point where they're facing tougher competition.

"We're going against all the top teams in Calgary every single weekend and we're with barely losing or barely winning, so we're in every game."

"This is our only second year in this league and we're going head-to-head against the best of them. I think our program is really progressing."

Like the Crush Minor team (see below), they played in a Montana tournament recently and went 2-3 against some of the best in the State.

"It was a great learning experience and it gave them extra confidence to know they can compete hard against the best that's out there."

He welcomes people to come to watch some of the action this weekend.

"If anyone wants to check us out they can expect to see lots of runs from the Cochrane team because out of the three elements we put a very heavy emphasis on hitting this year. We plan on hitting the ball hard."

"I like our chance here. We're not the favourites, but we're definitely not going to be the weakest team."

Sasha Pike, the Major AA tournament coordinator, says to her knowledge this is the first time Cochrane has hosted the championship weekend, although they have hosted tournaments for regular play in the summer leagues. She believes it's a real coup for Cochrane to be asked to be the host and it's also a chance to showcase our community.

"I think this is a huge opportunity for this community to step up and to show we are a ball town and we are committed to ball as a sport."

Summer league play continues to grow and it's ideal for players who are just hitting their stride after spring league.

"It's a real opportunity to carry on for those that really enjoy the sport and want to continue to grow and develop," she says. 

It's also a chance to play against talented teams from Regina, SK and Southern Alberta communities were minor ball is well established.

"I'm excited to watch this weekend. I think there's going to be some great ball," she says.

Everyone is welcome to come out to catch the action. There may be food trucks onsite, although none have been confirmed at this point, plus a chance to win a progressive 50-50 draw. Draw tickets will be sold all weekend and the winner won't have to be present for the draw to receive their cash prize.

The tier 3 championship involved three teams from Calgary and one from both Airdrie and Langdon.

Cochrane Crush Tier 1 Minor AA team. (Courtesy of Cochrane Minor Ball)Tier 1 Minor AA Championship

Meanwhile, the Minor AA Crush team is in Medicine this weekend for the Tier 1 Minor AA Championships and are looking to add a second title in two years.

They open the weekend play against the Rocky Mountain Little League team on Friday night and will be playing a total of five over the weekend, three round-robin games followed by two playoff rounds.

The team is 13-4 in the regular season leading up to the championship and all four losses have come at the hands of the Foothills team.

Foothills has proven to be the team they have to get past and Coach O'How says they are looking forward to the challenge.

"They are beatable but we'll have to play a really good game. If you play them enough you've got to win one time. I keep telling the kids our time will come when something is on the line. That's what you play for all year. Our goal is to get back to the finals again."

Last year the Crush won the Minor 'A' championship.

Besides league play, the team also played in a Great Falls, Montana tournament and went 1-3 with a number of close games against some strong American teams.

"The kids really enjoyed it," says O'How. "We ran into some pretty good teams down there but the kids played hard and competed and it was a good experience for them. It's good for the kids to see what else is out there."