What started as a hopeful run turned into a storybook week for the U15 Central Energy, who shocked top teams from across the country en route to a silver-medal finish at the 2025 U15 Women’s Canadian Fast Pitch Championship in Morden-Winkler.
The host team strung together upset after upset, going 4-2 in their pool to place second behind B.C.’s Fraser Valley Fusion 2010, then rolling through the playoff rounds to earn a seat in the gold medal game.
Their only round robin losses came against the Fusion 10-0 and Ontario’s Waterloo Ghosts 7-0. From there, Central Energy were undefeated in playoff action, downing the PEI Whitecaps 6-5, St. Albert Angels (Alta.) 7-6, Cloverdale Fury (B.C.) 2-1, Eastman Wildcats (Man.) 4-3, and Vaughan Vikings 2010 (Ont.) 7-4.
That remarkable streak set up a rematch with the Fusion, who had blanked Central earlier in the week. This time, Energy pushed them to the limit, falling just short in a 2-1 loss.
Second in the country is quite an accomplishment, and coach Kevin Convery couldn’t be prouder of his team.
“The whole week was amazing,” he said. “The kids played so well. They got on a little bit of a surprising run and we told the girls, ‘You made it to the A-side, which was our goal, now let’s just see how far you can go.’”
They certainly earned their seat at the championship game.
“They definitely deserved to go that far, because they played excellent ball,” Convery said. “We really just enjoyed the ride, because it was truly incredible.
“We let them know to enjoy the experience, because going to nationals itself is just a really cool experience for these players, and the fact that they got to do it in front of their families and friends …. we said, you know, take time, enjoy this. The ball is obviously important, but you’ll never forget all these cool memories you’re going to make this week, and we certainly made more than we were thinking.”
The level of competition was high, with strong teams from B.C., Alberta, and Ontario really giving Central Energy a run for their money.
“It was some of the better ball we’ve seen in our careers as fast pitch players and coaches,” Convery said. “And our girls really stayed there with those kids step by step. They really did themselves proud.”
All of Manitoba’s teams held their own at the event, Convery noted. Also representing our province were the Eastman Wildcats and the Interlake Phillies.
“All three of our teams finished in the top six at nationals, which is really, really incredible,” Convery said.
Eastman were 5-1 in their pool. In the playoffs, they lost to Team Ontario 6-2, ousted the Phillies 9-2, and then fell to Central Energy 4-3.
The Phillies were 3-3 in their pool and won their first two playoff games against B.C. (3-1) and Alberta (5-0) before falling to Eastman.
Morden-Winkler also hosted the men’s national fast pitch championships last week, though there was no Team Manitoba at it.
Ontario’s Tavistock Athletics were the champions, losing just once all week. Second place went to Team Québec.
Convery said the communities really came out to support these two massive tournaments, and the team and event coordinators are so grateful for that.
“The community came out to cheer us on all week,” he said. “On Sunday it was raining and it was cold, but there were still fans lined up along both baselines with their umbrellas out.
“It was really nice that the community came out and supported us. We truly appreciated that,” he stressed. “And we’d like to thank the volunteers who really made this event a success. And the host committee and all the subcommittee chairs who took care of so much work behind the scenes. These events don’t happen without all those people.
“Our team is truly grateful for everyone behind the scenes that really made it such a success and to the community for supporting the girls, because they really, really appreciated everyone cheering them on.”
