The South Central Bantam "AAA" team begins their quest for a National championship in Summerside, P.E.I. Thursday morning at 6:45 a.m. Manitoba time.

The club compiled of players from Altona, Winkler, Morden and Dominion City picked up a pair of players from North Winnipeg.

Manager, Jason Mateychuk explained the Nationals are a special opportunity.

"We picked up Tyler Smith and Shane Campbell and Tyler's dad Donnie had the welcome experience of playing with the Winnipeg Goldeyes.  He talked with our kids last practice about how as a player he went to one National championship and that was as a Senior in Brandon.  A National championship isn't something that you can just come to expect it's a really special experience."

South Central kicks off their Nationals experience Thursday against Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.

Mateychuk shared his expectations for the championship.

"I think the biggest thing is to compete.  You never know year to year what you are going to face there.  I feel we have a very strong team.  I am not going there to go 0-5, I am expecting to go there and win ball games.  The wildcard is what other provinces bring to the table.  I think just being in games and competing, winning would be great but that is not my focus, the kids got to learn that is sometimes just not in the cards."

South Central will face the host Summerside team on Friday morning and Alberta Friday afternoon.  The Manitoba representatives will close out the round robin against Newfoundland and Labrador on Saturday morning.

"I think the biggest thing is winning the tight ball game," stated Mateychuk when asked what his ball club has learned to help them be competitive.  "We lost 2-1, we won 2-0, we won the final 4-3.  For me being able to know that we can win those tight ball games is huge and I think coming back against North Winnipeg in the last game.  We were down 1-0, went up 3-1, they came back and tied it and we didn't roll over.  We learned to just relax, play the game regardless with much the same attitude."

Mateychuk noted being able to experience a beautiful province like Prince Edward Island will make it an all around special experience for the kids.

Meanwhile, Load Line Inc. in Winkler and South Central Minor Baseball contributed cash donations towards the teams trip while Tractor People in Dominion City donated new baseballs for practice and warm-ups.

The National 15U Baseball Championships run from August 25th to 28th. For the tournament schedule and results click here.