Team Manitoba placed 8th at the Canada Cup Baseball Championships in Moncton, but the performance was far more impressive than that.

Manitoba missed out on the playoffs by a single run, which put them in the 7th place game against team Alberta. Manitoba lost that game in the final inning 4-3.

It wasn't the finish that Tyrel Reimer of Grunthal was looking for. "We were wanting to do top 3, top 4, We knew it would be pretty tough competition going through, with lots of tight games."

Manitoba opened the competition with a 6-3 loss to New Brunswick, before rattling off two straight wins against Prince Edward Island and Alberta. Reimer noted that one key to those first couple of wins was strategy, employing matchup strategy against their opponents. "We had to figure out which hand the pitchers would be throwing with. We'd have righties hitting against lefties."

A 4-2 loss to Nova Scotia proved to be the nail in the coffin for Manitoba's hopes at qualifying for a medal, even with a 12-2 rout over Newfoundland & Labrador. That set up the rematch with Alberta, which resulted in the close 4-3 loss.

Reimer's coaches, however, were keen to keep their players spirit's high after the final loss. "We made them proud and we exceeded their expectations," noted Reimer, speaking to what the coaches told the players in their family.

Despite the loss in that final game, players still felt that the tournament was a positive experience for them. "It was a very exciting situation," said Reimer, who played in two of Manitoba's games in the tournament and scored 3 runs. "I've definitely become a better player and better person," he added, citing meeting new people and thinking harder about the game as main points of development.