While playing minor baseball in his hometown of Hamiota, Rylan Gage was always drawn down to the ballpark to watch the town's senior team.
The Hamiota Red Sox, a member of the Southwest Baseball League, are a storied organization in the league which includes teams from Boissevain, Deloraine, Rivers, Wawanesa, Oak River, Reston, Virden, and Elkhorn.
Gage first played baseball when he was nine and every year on the diamond, he helped his team win regionals which meant Gage had the opportunity to play in the provincial championships every season. This past year was Rylan's third with the senior team and his most impressive to date.
"It's always so cool playing for the Red Sox, this is the team that I grew up watching," said Gage. "People will stop us around town to talk, it's a pretty special feeling."
The Red Sox went 5-11 this season which saw them miss the playoffs by four and a half games. The team scored 77 runs and the Hamiota star was a big reason why as he batted a career-high .296 with five singles and a pair of doubles. Rylan also had three runs batted in and an on-base percentage of .367.
Gage was put into a bigger role with the team and certainly made the most of it.
"I thought things went pretty well, this was the first year that I took the next step at the senior level," offered Gage. "I did a solid job of putting the bat on the ball, I'm very pleased with how things went."
While Hamiota did not make the playoffs in league play, they did advance to Baseball Manitoba's provincial 'A' championships which they hosted earlier this month.
Hamiota opened the event by dispatching Carberry, 6-1. They then lost to Oak River in a thriller, 7-6, before responding in a big way by putting up six runs in a victory against North Winnipeg. That win saw Hamiota advance to the semi-finals where again, they would go up against Carberry and the Red Sox were not denied as they put up 15 runs in a victory.
The only team standing in the way of Gage and the rest of the Red Sox becoming provincial champions was the Oak River Dodgers. The same team they lost to earlier in the round-robin, but Gage says they were ready for this challenge.
"We were pretty confident, we had played Oak River tight all season," offered Gage. "We knew what we had to do to get the job done, so we went in with the right mindset."
Brady Waddell pitched a gem for Hamiota and Gage came to play at the plate. Rylan went 2-for-3 with an RBI single and a triple, which he later scored, in a 3-0 win against the Dodgers.
The Red Sox ended their season by winning a provincial championship on the team's home field in front of a great crowd.
"It was such a great feeling to win," said Gage. "I'm so happy for Brady, he pitched a gem, and we couldn't have done it without him."
Gage's efforts saw him being named player of the game.
"It was very exciting and unexpected to win that," said Gage. "It was a great game to play in, I felt like I was young again."
Now that Rylan's baseball season has come to an end, he will continue to work for the Town of Hamiota and prepare to return to Dauphin.
Gage will be heading into his second junior season after playing AAA hockey with the Yellowhead Chiefs.
"I can't wait to get back to Dauphin, it's a great place," offered Gage. "It's going to be a fun year, we should have a very solid year. I'm excited to see the players, I've been missing them a lot over the summer months."
Gage, who played in all seven playoff games for Dauphin last year, improved greatly throughout the season and as the 2024-25 season approaches, he will look to take his game to the next level.
"It would be nice to get to that 30 point mark this season," said Gage. "I love being a King, it's a fantastic organization and I'm proud to be a part of it."
Across 33 games last year, Rylan had four goals and five assists. While Gage did not record a playoff point, he looked very impressive, and a great year is ahead for the star from Hamiota.
