Originally known as the Mallard Stars fastball team, they are now called the Lacquette Construction Stars. Although there's that change, most things haven't changed including the team's ability to win games and continue to develop players.

Over the weekend in Dauphin, both the men's and women's teams played in events at the Vermillion Sportsplex and both teams finished near the top of the standings and had some thrilling games along the way. 

Speaking of thrillers, on Saturday night the men's team played the Skownan Giants who are known as a powerhouse and this is a game that fans likely won't forget for a long time. The game needed multiple extra innings with the Stars ultimately coming out on top with some timely hitting and pitching. Playing in a double-elimination format, the men's team ended up finishing in third place in a stacked field. The event was won by Team Bigman.

"Those types of games are nailbiters and we've played in a pile of them in the past," said Terance Lacquette. "Our older players on the team try to keep everyone calm and when that happens, good things happen. We've played in tournaments where you're playing for $15,000, so our guys are used to this."

The men's side was a two-day tournament beginning on Saturday and wrapping up on Sunday but that wasn't the case for the women's bracket. It was only played on Saturday and it included the Dauphin Wolves who were eliminated in two games.

The Lacquette Construction Stars women's team played the very first game of the day and they ended up advancing to the final game of the day where they came up short in the finals to finish in second place.

"The girls just ran out of gas, it was an extremely long day," said Lacquette. "We only had nine players, it's tough. It was extremely hot out and it was a long day. Everyone was pretty happy with the performance and it was a good weekend for the team."

The women's team was missing five regular players while the men's team missed the services of four regulars. 

Both teams' also played in a tournament in Brandon last week where the men's team finished in fourth place while the women's team once again advanced to the championship final where they came up just short. In a matter of two weeks', the men's team has two top-4 finishes while the women's team has two silver medals.

"The progression is really good this season, there is no doubt about that. Specifically, on the guy's team, our young guys are continuing to get better and learning how to play at a high level," offered Lacquette. "There is a lot of skill and talent on this team, the experience just isn't quite there, but we're putting these guys in situations where they have to go above and beyond and I think that's really important for their development."

Both teams are now looking into playing in a tournament in Peguis in a couple of weeks' time followed by another tournament in Cross Lake later this summer. In a normal year, both teams would also play in the Canadian Native Fastball Championships; however, that event has been postponed this year because of the novel coronavirus. 

As both teams look to add to their impressive resumes already this summer, Lacquette says this program has been on the up for years and he expects that to continue moving forward.

"We have a history of finishing high in the standings in all of the tournaments. Very rarely are we two and out," ended Lacquette. "The days of us struggling as a team are kind of in the past now. With the experience we have, it just makes for a solid program moving forward."

Formerly known as the Mallard Stars, the team has been around since 1988 making the Stars the longest-running fastball team in the area.