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Elite ballplayer from the Battlefords among Sask. Hall of Fame inductees

Jul 23, 2016 | 12:00 PM

This year’s induction class in the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in Battleford includes a local farm kid who quickly grew into one of the province’s elite ballplayers.

Regan Kjargaard, now of Saskatoon, will be among the inductees. According to a biography provided by the hall, Kjargaard began his playing days with the Battleford Community Youth Club before moving on to the Junior Beavers team, playing against adult teams from the North Saskatchewan River Baseball League. He won his first provincial title in the Bison age group, and made it as far as third place in the 1978 Canadian Championships. The team is already in the hall of fame.

Kjargaard was named an all-star at the Western tournament in 1980, and after appearing at some tryout camps for the Cincinnati Reds, earned a scholarship to Missouri Western State College in 1981, where his record in his rookie year was 5-3 with a 3.41 earned run average.

After that, Kjargaard moved to Saskatoon, where he won two provincial titles as a member of the Saskatoon Nationals of the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League. He later played senior ball before retiring from playing in 1992. He began coaching his son’s teams, which led to him becoming the coach of the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets. His son would follow in his footsteps.