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BC teams unstoppable at Western Canadian Softball Championships

Aug 8, 2017 | 8:34 AM

The U14 Western Canadian Softball Championships have come to a close, and a pair of teams from British Columbia proved to be unstoppable forces throughout the weekend.

Both the Barriere Bruins and Surrey Storm went undefeated throughout the tournament, and clinched the boys’ and girls’ titles on Monday afternoon.

The Bruins defeated the Shellbrook Rangers 8-1 in the boys’ gold medal game.

Despite bringing the final to an end in just the fifth inning, Bruins coach Phil Ransome said that he knew the game would be tough, and some adjustments needed to be made beforehand.

“It took a while for the kids to get used to being here and check out the competition,” Ransome said. “Once everybody got settled in, [we] started hitting the ball really hard and took off.”

Ransome credits the victory to the team’s small number of errors and pitching ability.

The Cross Lake Wolves from Manitoba took home bronze after being eliminated by the Rangers prior to the final.

On the girls side, Surrey Storm racked up an impressive 7-0 record on the road to the final, where they met up against the Lloydminster Liners for the final.

The Storm had previously beaten the Liners by one run on Sunday evening in a nail-biter that went into extra innings.

The second showdown on Monday afternoon was just as close, with the Storm besting the Liners by just one run.

According to Storm coach John Herdman, the team’s defensive prowess helped bring the girls to victory.

“[The Liners] are a great team…the game could have gone either way, and our girls just seemed to find a way to dig deep,” Herdman said. “We came fifth in our provincials, and there were a lot of tears, a lot of disappointment, so we were so happy we had this opportunity to put a smile back on their faces.”

Prior to the final, the Unity Panthers took on the Lloydminster Liners in the semi-finals, but fell 6-5. The Panthers took home bronze as a result.

 

jared.gottselig@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jgottsel