The Estevan TS&M Tornados played at the Eugene Emberley Memorial Tournament in Weyburn on the weekend and saw the fruits of their labour over the first month of the season.
The team split their four games, including winning their first two, to finish third in a field of five teams.
Estevan lost out on a trip to the final on a runs-allowed tiebreaker, which they lost mainly because of a wild 21-19 loss to Melville on Saturday.
Tornados coach Kent Phillips said a tiny strike zone made it tough to fan batters.
"One inning they scored six runs without one hit," he said. "They got to go play in the final because they gave up less runs than we did. That game cost us."
The Tornados started the tournament with a 12-4 win over Weyburn Friday night and followed it up with a 17-9 win over the Regina Pacers the next morning.
The Pacers win showed just how far the Tornados have come after losing two lopsided decisions to that club at the start of the season.
"They mercy ruled us both games (in May), so that's a good sign to me that we're getting better. It's not your wins and losses, it's how you start and how you finish," Phillips said.
The team's final game was a 15-8 loss to Swift Current.
"The kids are starting to play ball now that we've been able to play some games and get some practice time in. We're starting to look like a ball team," Phillips said.
"Our pitching's been really good. We've even had a couple of coaches come to us and say that our top two pitchers, they haven't seen anyone better all year.
"The kids know what they're capable of now. They know they can play with the big guys."
