The Estevan GemWell Southeast Elite 16-and-under softball team has earned a berth in the Western Canadian championships after finishing in second place at the 2016 Softball Saskatchewan U16 ‘B’ finals this past weekend in Regina.
The Elite came out flying in the provincial championship tournament at the Regina Minor Softball League diamonds on Friday trouncing the Moose Jaw Ice 8-0. The team matched up against their season-long nemesis the next morning in the Prince Albert Aces, who had beat them three times already this season including an A-side final victory at the Sharon Knott Memorial Tournament in late May, but got the upper hand this time around beating the club 8-7.
“We hit the ball really well,” said Elite coach Mike Wilson. “We played good defence and our pitching kept them off balance.”
The team finished off Pilot Butte 10-2 shortly after downing the Aces, which set them up for a semifinal match on Sunday morning against the Melfort Spirit. The Elite took the game 10-4 securing one of two spots in the Western Canadian championships in St. Albert, Alberta, from July 27 to 30 as well as a berth in the provincial finals on Sunday evening where they fell to the Spirit 7-0.
“We hit the ball, but we didn’t hit the holes,” said Wilson. “They capitalized on some errors and some timely hitting and just a couple runs in each inning. I think our girls were just emotionally drained at that time pretty much. It was a long tournament, a lot of hard games, but they came to (play). It was good for the girls.”
Wilson said the Western Canadian championships will be a test for the Elite, which includes players from Carlyle, Carnduff, Alameda and Estevan, as it will feature the best pitching and hitting talent in that age group from Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. He said they’ll prepare as best they can leading up to the tournament by focusing on team building and mental preparation as well as taking the field for hitting and defence practice to try and head into the competition the same way they approached the provincial championships.
“We’re the first Estevan team to accomplish (making the Western Canadian championships),” he said. “Nine girls actually play, but it took 13 girls to accomplish our success this weekend. It just wasn’t an individual effort. Nine players played, but the bench, girls came in, they pinch ran, they got some timely hits, they worked on defence, so it was a team success.”
