The Yellowknife Merchants fastball team followed up last year’s Alberta provincials win with gold at the John Cho Cup invitational tournament in Prince George, BC.
The John Cho Cup is the largest annual fastball tournament in BC, a three-day event that, according to the organizers on the tournament’s Facebook page, attracts “thousands of fans.”
This year, 43 teams in five divisions signed up to compete at the end of June.
Garrett Hinchey, who plays for the Yellowknife Merchants, said winning the competition marked a “step up” for the team.
“When you come from Yellowknife, the expectations aren’t necessarily high,” said Hinchey.
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“People don’t really know what to expect when they see you down there. So to go down and be not only very competitive, but to win the thing? You know, that gets people talking.”
Hinchey told Cabin Radio one of the team’s goals is to compete at the national championships – which used to be a regular occurrence for NWT fastball teams until the mid-80s – as they keep work on the skill level and funds required.
“We’re working up to it in the sense that we want to be ready for it and not just go as a token team,” he said.
Hinchey described winning Alberta provincials in 2024 as the first step toward that goal, and winning the John Cho Cup as the second.
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He attributed the team’s success to “high-skilled players” – many of whom, he said, had been playing together since childhood.
“There’s a lot of familiarity with each other and a lot of camaraderie,” said Hinchey.
“People check their egos at the door. Sometimes you need to be the hero who its a home run, and sometimes you just need to be the guy playing solid defense and cheering on your teammates. We have a whole bunch of guys who can do both of those things, which is pretty unique and pretty special.”
One of the “heroes” of the game was Hinchey’s brother and teammate, Chad Hinchey, who scored the winning run with two outs in the sixth inning.
Chad told Cabin Radio he had been struggling at the plate throughout the tournament.
“Coming into that last moment, you’re just trying to hit something solid,” said Chad. “I don’t think I’m ever thinking about trying to hit one out. But as soon as [the pitcher] let it go and I got a piece of it, I knew. I knew it was gone as soon as I hit it.”
Garrett said the team had been “on the blade of the knife” trailing 4-0 earlier in the final, “but everybody knew that we were good enough to do it. If we could keep our heads in there and just chip away at the lead, then something good would happen.”
The team now focuses on the Williams Cup Classic, an invitational tournament in Calgary, scheduled for August 15-17.
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“We’re expecting a lot of strong teams from western Canada there,” said Garrett. “It’s another chance to compete at a high level and establish ourselves.”
“It’s fun to go away and kind-of scratch the competitive itch,” said Chad. “It’s a good group to travel with.”
Correction: July 4, 2025 – 10:05 MT. This article initially stated the John Cho Cup is a qualifier for nationals. It isn’t. Our report has been updated, with an additional correction that the winning run came in the sixth, and not final, inning of the game.
