The 97th season of Marysburg Royals baseball has come to a close following their 5-2 loss to the Saskatoon Outlaws Monday night in the Saskatoon Senior Baseball league semi-final.

They were able to collect their fifth straight regular season pennant sporting a 14-4 record but getting that clutch hit or key out at provincials and westerns just seemed out of their reach this season.

There was no post season banner in 2015 but longtime Royal Curtis Strueby says it was another great Summer.

"We had some ups and downs and some bad games but we always seemed to battle right back. The last few years we've kind of gotten rid of those bad games but this year it was a little bit more of a challenge but you know what? It turned out really, really good again."

They entered the AA senior provincials again this past year losing to the Regina Trappers in the final of that tournament in Moose Jaw. That performance punched their ticket to the Western Canadian Championship in Baldur, Manitoba.

Again, the hits didn't come and the Royals went 0-3 despite a run differential of three.

One thing that seemed more apparent this campaign was the depth and amount of players available, this is in fact senior baseball and a roster filed with fathers, husbands and guys with jobs and responsibilities. Cue the younger talent across the region that stepped up.

Strueby admits without some local midget aged players this season might have gotten lost.

"Maybe if some of them want to continue to play ball it would be a good place for them to play. It's kind of nice being an older guy and seeing a lot of the youth in the area playing ball and hopefully wanting to continue."

The Royals continue to be a strong group of role models for young players helped out immensely by their camp in the Spring. As for now, Strueby says season number 98 will come before we know it and the small community will once again rally around them.

"This is the worst time of year," Strueby laughed. "The one hour after you are done right. It's a lot of fun, we have a fantastic group of guys, a lot of local guys and the guys we've brought in over the past few years, we really get a long well and we've had a lot of success."

You can hear more from Strueby in his wrap-up interview with Bolt FM's Clark Stork below.