The men’s slo-pitch final was a showcase of local talent and a sign of what to expect when Whitehorse hosts the national slo-pitch championships in August.

It was a close game between Dave’s Cleaning Crew and the P & M Recycling Guns, as the Guns pulled ahead to win 17-11.

“It was a really close one,” said Guns’ Matt Kremer. “It was a good battle. It’s good to have some competition in town.”

The Crew has improved a lot from last year, a testament to the hard work they have been logging since last fall.

“We opened a lot of eyes that tournament,” said the Crew’s James Semaschuk. “The guys just want to get better.”

The Crew had a strong batting line-up and hitting was a highlight for the tournament as Semaschuk said they had about 150 RBIs for the whole tournament.

“We hit the crap out of the ball,” he said. “It’s a great starting point for success.”

The Crew have been training twice a week for the past month and are working on a different infield configuration.

The five man infield borrows a man from the outfield and sticks him in the infield. It’s a defensive strategy that is effective against groundballs, but requires outfield players to be on their game to cover the extra ground.

“It’s a whole new ball game when you incorporate that new man,” said Semaschuk.

There were tight innings played with dirt burns, cuts and a broken bone.

Guns backcatcher Mike Tuton stood up on a play to home, but was soon on the ground.

His teammates helped him off the field to wait for the ambulance. He broke his leg and went for surgery this week.

The Guns are hoping to have him fill a coaching role for the remainder of the season.

For the Guns, it was a successful tournament as players discovered where on the field they performed best.

Kremer said guys discovered their niche, which is good for a team with a lot of talent.

“It’s probably one of the deepest teams the Guns have ever had,” he said.

The Guns and the Crew are now looking towards Dustball, where they will get to play more teams, and to the home crowd at nationals.

“We hope there’s a lot of fans out to support Yukon at nationals,” said Semaschuk.