Logan Hofmann pitched four innings, allowing just one hit, as the Muenster Red Sox opened up the provincial championships with a 7-0 win over the Saskatoon Giants.

Hofmann struck out six batters in a strong showing to open up the weekend.

Although the Red Sox are one of the top teams in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League, they came into provincials having ended the regular season in an up and down fashion.

Coach Chad Hofmann says that they were quick to turn the page ahead of Friday's first game.

"We talked a lot about it early. A couple comments on the bench today were that it was a new season," he explained. "That's one of the best games we played defensively, and we put the ball in play against good pitching. Hopefully the new season carries over that we were talking about."

The Red Sox got up 1-0 in the second inning, after an error by the Giants. They added two more runs in the third, when Thomas Bollefer's single cashed in a pair.

Hofmann says getting out to a good start was important.

"It's always nice to get up a little bit, get some confidence and see some really good swings."

The early go-ahead runs combined with Logan Hofmann being solid on the bump allowed the Red Sox hitters to have better control, according to Chad Hofmann.

"He's obviously one of our better guys, so we thought if we hold them for the first few innings and if we could get one or two runs, we would be looking pretty good."

A point of emphasis for the Muenster batters in the game was having everyone contribute in some fashion, with hits or runs batted in.

That is something that Hofmann believes will be crucial if they are to repeat as provincial champions.

"I would say that is huge. We talked about that too. The rest of the guys have to step up big and contribute, and they did that too."

Among the highlights of the game was an over the shoulder, diving catch by Bollefer, who was playing first base. He then got up and fired the ball to third for the double play, after the Giants runner had come off the bag.

The Red Sox will look to continue their momentum in game two on Saturday afternoon, when they battle the Regina Athletics. 

Regina lost 9-4 to the Saskatoon Cubs in their opening game on Friday.

First pitch will be 12:00pm, with the Red Sox wrapping up the round robin at 6:30pm against the Cubs.

The top two teams in each pool advance to Sunday's semi-final games.

Other scores from our local teams Friday are below:

Midget AA Tier 3 in Saskatoon
Wynyard Blues 10 vs North East Rangers12

Peewee AA Tier 1 in Weyburn
Muenster Red Sox 4 vs Weyburn Beavers 15
Humboldt Dodgers 11 vs Unity Cardinals 17

Senior A Softball in Saskatoon
Bruno Merchants 0 vs Saskatoon Angels 8

Senior C Softball in Saskatoon
Wynyard Blues 1 vs Laird Dynamos 3