A national title for the Swift Current Prides Thunder in the Men's 'D' Division Slo-Pitch Nationals over the weekend.

After a 3-1 record in round robin play, Swift Current won four straight playoff games, capped off by a 25-17 win in the final to be crowned champs - a feat that head coach Terry Mitchell is still trying to process.

"It's still surreal - we're still trying to gather our thoughts. It just hasn't sunk it yet," Mitchell said.

Despite the surreal feeling however, both the head coach and team's belief in their ability never wavered. "I just knew it was something special. We never quit, we stuck together, we believed in this team, we picked each other up when we were struggling, and we were so consistent. As the tournament went on, people were starting notice this team was for real."

For the trip to Slo-Pitch Nationals, the Prides Thunder team was made up of nine players from Swift Current, three from Moose Jaw, and one from Regina. Although the players from other cities didn't have a lot of experience playing on the same team as each other, their attitude and mindset were on the same page going into the tournament.

"We all have something in common - we have passion for this game. When we got out there, we knew we had one goal - to win. We were sore, hurt, bleeding, and bruised, but managed to come out with the win," Mitchell said.

In the 25-17 shootout in the national final, Pitcher Blaine Fehr was named Finals MVP, an honour his head coach says was very well deserved.

"He battled through everything. He got line drives at him and got hit a few times, but he never quit," Mitchell said. "He was so consistent, and people noticed. They would come up to me and say how awesome they thought he was doing - it's important to have a good pitcher."

This is the first national title for the Prides Thunder.