The Swift Current U18 AAA 57’s hosted their second Pink Game against the Marlins in the annual Sask Selects tournament, showing support for Rustyn Paul and Bella Brave Thompson. 

The Pink Game raised more than awareness for the illnesses of the young girls, as all of the funds from the concessions went straight to the families. Adding to these funds was a collection of raffle prizes brought by the community. Unfortunately, Bella Brave was not able to make it to the game, but the team had a pregame dance party just for her. 

(Photo by Alex Kozroski)

Kurri Darby, head coach of the U18 57’s spoke to his team’s participation. 

"It looked like we had a pretty good turnout,” Darby explained. “There's lots of pink in the stands, so we're pretty happy to see that. The Marlins brought two little baskets with things that any five to ten year old girl loves, and we had some flowers that were donated from Wildflower Florist in town here... We've got a couple of autographed balls for the girls. Those small mementos, the things that maybe day-to-day will put a smile on their face and lift them up a little bit.” 

Before the game began, Rustyn Paul’s mother gave a brief speech, and her daughter got to throw the first pitch, exclaiming “Play ball!” to start the show. After seven innings of high winds, the 57’s took a 9-6 defeat to the Marlins, but Coach Darby was undaunted. 

“We had a really good approach to start the game, we knew we were going to jump on fastballs early and not try to do too much,” he stated. “The wind plays a big factor in these games, and it seemed as the game wore on, the energy level dropped a little.”  

Darby went on to state that this tournament is great for getting guys opportunities to come in and perform and be okay with making mistakes.