It was a solid year for the Macklin Sr. Lakers in the Battle River Baseball League in 2023. This was the first season for the Sr. Lakers in the league, and manager Derrick Lantz talked about the regular season. 

“We did well (in the league). It was a 7-game schedule. There were eight teams in the league here, so everybody played each other once and it was kind of a good schedule because we only played once a week, right? And with our depleted numbers compared to last year, our guys were able to commit to the fewer game schedule in the Battle River League than in the NSRBL.” 

Lantz then talked about the differences between the two leagues.  

“It's a different league for sure than the NSRBL, but I mean it was fun. It was enjoyable, they had slightly different rules where you could bat everybody in the lineup and unlimited substitutions if you chose that route.” 

Lantz then talked about the top teams in the league, including the 1st place Veteran Bulls.  

“And we noticed that the Veteran Bulls were the top team in the league at the end of the year, they finished first. We had a good game against them. It's a close game right until the end. They ended up beating us 6-4.” 

Lantz feels in their final game of the regular season against the U18 Lakers they were too relaxed and managed to give the U18s free runs thanks to some errors and walks. It was just an off game, Lantz added, and he feels they pitched and hit well all season long.  

As for the U18 Lakers, they finished the season with a 3-4 record, and should be a good test for the Sr. Lakers in round one.  Game one goes Wednesday at 7 pm, with game two set for Thursday at 7pm, and if game three is needed, it will be played on Monday, July 10, also at 7pm. All games will be played at Repsol Field.