The U17 Central Energy team captured the U17 AAA Softball Provincials this past weekend in Friedensfeld to clinch a berth to the upcoming Nationals.
U17 Central Energy dominated in the round robin, going 5-0, and clinched the first seed going into the playoff round. With the top two teams at Provincials going to Nationals, U17 Central Energy just needed to win one of the two semi-final matchups.
In the first semi-final, U17 Central Energy was humbled by an 11-1 loss to the Eastman Wildcats.
Molly Cowan led things off in the circle for U17 Central Energy. The starting pitcher surrendered five hits and six runs (four earned) over one inning, striking out none and walking none.
Leadoff hitter Molly Conrad led U17 Central Energy with two hits in two at-bats. Hailey-Jo Guffei went 1-for-2 at the plate as the left-handed hitter led the team with Central Energy’s lone run batted in.
U17 Central Energy still had one more chance to get to Nationals, and the girls were able to put the last loss behind them as Brooklyn Friesen drove in four runs on three hits to lead U17 Central Energy past Winnipeg Lightning U17 by a 10-0 score.
Friesen hit a home run to centre field in the first inning, scoring two runs, and singled in the third inning, scoring two.
U17 Central Energy scored six runs in the third inning on the way to victory. Friesen singled, scoring two runs; Tori Mangin tripled, scoring three runs; and Kenzie Dudeck induced Karli Toews to hit into a fielder’s choice, but one run scored.
Nelia Fehr stepped into the pitching circle first for U17 Central Energy. The starting pitcher allowed three hits and zero runs over four innings, striking out seven and walking one.
U17 Central Energy would get their revenge against the Eastman Wildcats in the Provincial final as they prevailed with a 4-1 victory.
A home run to right field by Brooklyn Friesen put U17 Central Energy on the board in the top of the first. Friesen provided pop in the middle of the lineup and led U17 Central Energy with three runs batted in.
Karli Toews stepped into the circle first for U17 Central Energy. She surrendered five hits and one run over seven innings, striking out six and walking two, leading Central Energy to the victory.
U17 Central Energy will now represent Manitoba at the U17 Female Canadian National Championships in Calgary from July 31 to Aug. 4.
“The girls were incredible all weekend,” said U17 Central Energy coach Cam Zacharias. “We were undefeated in the round robin, then came out flat in the first playoff game against a very good Eastman team. Then the girls got focused and played great again in the next game to get into the final against Eastman again. Karli Toews pitched just an incredible game to keep Eastman to only one run, and with Brooklyn Friesen hitting a three-run home run, they won a really tough tournament to be provincial champions. It was just a huge team effort all weekend, and there were endless highlight-reel plays on defence and really timely hitting. We’re looking forward to Nationals now in a couple of weeks’ time.”
In other news:
The U15 Central Energy team’s provincials will be held from July 18-21 in Winnipeg at Ray Fennel Park. From there, the top two teams at provincials will represent Manitoba at the U15 Female Canadian Championships in Ile-Perrot, Quebec, from Aug. 14-18. The teams finishing third and fourth will represent Manitoba at the U15 Female Western Canadian Softball Championships in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, from Aug. 2-5.
Finally, the U13 Central Energy team’s provincials will be held at Stonewall’s Quarry Park from July 25-28. The top two teams (not including Westman Magic) will join the host team, Westman Magic, and represent Manitoba at the U13 Female Western Canadian Softball Championships in Brandon from Aug. 1-4.
