Over the weekend, Portage Padres clinched the Santa Clara Baseball League pennant, with a double-header victory over Ebb & Flow Lakers. Besides the pennant, the Padres will represent the league at the provincial senior men's AA championships next month. Looking back on the weekend, Tyler Butler acknowledges the team had a few nerves going into game 1 versus the Lakers.

"It got a little scary later in the (3-0) game. It was 1-0 in the 6th, and I think maybe guys knowing what was on the line, maybe were a little bit tight off the start, but we found a way to get through it. We had great pitching, and found a way to get a couple of more runs. The second game didn't matter, after the first game."

Before the Padres go to the provincial championships, they have the Santa Clara League playoffs, and Butler says they'll use them as a tune-up, so it's important to do well. They face Ebb & Flow in the first round of the playoffs, and he knows they'll be looking for some payback.

"They're a gritty team, they put up a good challenge. They've got guys that can throw the ball pretty well on the mound. No team in our league is a pushover, at all. So we definitely have to be ready for them."

Butler outlines how the Padres will prepare for the provincial tournament.

"We have playoff starting this week, so we're going to play some ball, and we'll probably have a couple of practices. Do some hitting, do some fielding. There's definite not a weak spot at all (at provincials), and every game is going to be very competitive, so we have to be prepared. Minnedosa has gone for so many years, and they've done very well, so we have big shoes to fill there, too. We want to represent our league as well as they have."

The Padres host game 1 of their Santa Clara League playoff versus Ebb & Flow on Wednesday, at Rotary Republic Park. The provincials are in Neepawa August 11th through the 13th.