Most of the guys who play baseball for the Lomak Midget Knights are still too young to vote.
But if there was a poll taken to determine the team to beat this season in the Northland Dodge Senior Baseball League, the surprising Knights would certainly be near the top of the list.
Four games into the season, the team of 15- to 18-year-olds has a 4-0 record. Not only have they won all four games but the Knights have annihilated their adult opponents, outscoring them a combined 42-7.
"I don't know if there's ever been a midget team that's started the season 4-0," said Knights manager Shane Taylor, whose team puts its undefeated record on the line tonight at 6:30 at Citizen Field against the KOB Contracting Gladiators.
"Three to five wins in that league is considered an excellent season. The year we won (double-A midget provincials in 2012) I think we only won one game and last year we won two games (out of 20)."
It's not like the Knights are top-loaded with older players. On a team of 14, just five are in their last year of midget ball. The seniors are Dylan Lukinchuk, Brandon Hanson, Spencer Dempsey, Matt Knight and Craig Uwimana-Budskin.
Liam Campbell, Ajay Nickolet and Michael Schwab are in their first season of midget ball, while the second-year players are Scott Walters, Cole Schwing, Michael Taylor, Levi Bronswyk, Dustin Aldana and Joseph JenVenne.
"I'd say right now defence is our biggest strength - we're very solid in every position and we have good depth," said Shane Taylor. "I also like the way the team supports each other. Our hitting is starting to come around and it helps playing in the men's league."
The pitchers - Campbell, Uwimana-Budskin, Schwing, Aldana and Nickolet - have been giving the Knights what they need to win, keeping the ball in play.
"We've had great starts from Craig and Dustin, but the kids that are coming in, they're all doing their jobs and when they have their opportunities they're prepared," said Taylor.
The Knights have been getting some extra positional instruction from some of the top players in the men's league - namely Brandon Hunter, Cole Waldie and Brandon Graham - who are showing up at practice to share their college experience and offer tips. That gives Taylor and the rest of the Knights coaching staff - Jody Hannon, Murray Lukinchuk and Rod Walters - more time to work one-on-one with their players.
Schwing and Scott Walters, Dylan Lukinchuk and Schwab are usually near the top of the Knights' batting order. Michael Taylor is also high on the chart and leads the team in on-base percentage. Knight and Walters have shown they can hit for power.
"We've got good speed and they're smart baserunners," said coach Taylor. "They're starting to really understand the game."
Schwing played this past year for an academy team based in Langley, while Michael Taylor also honed his skill in the off-season while attending Yale Academy in Abbotsford, where he played a busy schedule in the Premier League.
The Knights will be in Newton at the end of the month for their third tournament, a double-A event which will be a good indicator what they will be up against when they host the 10-team provincial double-A championship at Citizen Field and Rotary Field, Aug. 5-7.
The Knights' previous two tournaments this season were played in Kamloops - both against premier or triple-A calibre teams.
"We only had one practice on a field before our first tournament," said coach Taylor. "We played well and lost out on a wild-card spot by run differential.
"Starting out 4-0 (in the men's league) is definitely helping us create excitement for the provincials. We still need to do lots of fundraising."
