River Kings nab sixth consecutive win

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And the streak goes on for the Prince George River Kings. The British Columbia-based squad won its sixth consecutive title at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships.

The River Kings captured the men's A division at the nationals, which was held at the Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation in Alberta July 29 to Aug. 1.The Prince George club blanked the Invermere Nightmares 9-0 in what proved to be the final.

Due to a tournament mercy rule, however, that match only lasted five innings instead of the regulation seven innings. The rule stipulated any division game would be over if one team was leading by more than seven runs following the fifth inning.

The River Kings ended up playing five matches at this year's nationals, which also included games in Whitecourt. The Prince George side won all of its contests.

River Kings' player/coach Randy Potskin was not surprised his team dominated the final.

"We were ready to play," he said. "We could feel it. We were just one win away."

The tournament featured a double-knockout format, meaning clubs had to lose two games before being eliminated.

Prince George had defeated the Nightmares 4-0 earlier in the tournament, handing the Invermere squad its first loss.

Since they were the only two teams remaining in the division, the Nightmares would have had to defeat the Prince George side two straight games to capture the crown.

A total of 66 clubs participated at this year's nationals. Sixteen of those entrants were in the men's A division.

The tournament also featured 26 squads in the men's B division. And there were 24 teams that competed in the women's category.

Alberta's Pevine Canadians captured the men's B crown, while another Alberta side, the Alexander Red Hawks, won the women's championship.

As for the River Kings, their roster this season included 14 players. Nine of them have one thing in common-the surname Potskin.

All of the other Potskins are Randy's cousins.

Besides Randy, there are a half-dozen other Prince George players who have been members of the River Kings during all six of their national championships.

They are catcher/pitcher Chad Ghostkeeper, first baseman Lance Potskin, shortstop Joey Potskin, designated hitter Len Potskin, infielder/outfielder Evan Potskin and pitcher Joey Basaraba.

Randy said he doesn't know how much longer the River Kings can continue their dominance at the nationals.

"It's getting tougher and tougher every year," he said. "We know it's going to eventually end. But our team is still not too old. I'm the oldest player on the team and I'm 37."

At this year's nationals it appeared early on that the River Kings' streak might indeed end. That's because the club had a couple of close calls early on.

In its opener, Prince George required a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to eke out a 4-3 victory over an Edmonton-based team.

And then in their second outing, the River Kings required an eighth inning before pulling out a 3-2 triumph against a club from Nova Scotia.

Randy Potskin attributed his team's slow start to the fact his teammates toil for various squads during the rest of the year. That resulted in a bit of unfamiliarity with each other's play.

"We got stronger as it went on," he said. "Our last two games we played really well."

Before defeating the Nightmares in the final, Prince George beat a Saskatoon side 5-2.

For winning the men's A title this year, the River Kings took home the top prize money of $10,000. As the runners-up, the Nightmares were awarded $7,500.

Several members of the Prince George club were singled out for their performances, including Randy, a second baseman who was named to the tournament's all-star team.

Ghostkeeper was selected as the event's most valuable player. And other River Kings picked for the all-star team were Basaraba, Evan and Joey Potskin and Eli Jules.

Randy said the Prince George team will be back to defend its crow at the 2006 nationals, scheduled for Prince Albert, Sask.

"We have to keep it going at least until we get beat," he said.