The U15 AAA Interlake Phillies are heading to nationals after capturing bronze at the 2025 Softball Manitoba Provincial Championships.
After a rain delay postponed the final rounds of the July 24–27 tournament at Ray Fennell Park in Winnipeg, the Phillies returned to the diamond on Wednesday, July 30 in Winkler, where they dropped a tough medal-round game to Central Energy. But it was their dramatic 9–4 win over Westman Magic on Sunday that secured both a podium finish and a berth to the 2025 U15 Female Canadian Championships in August.
“Going into that Westman game, I told the girls no one expects us to win, so go out there and show them what we can do,” said Phillies coach Mike Hammond. “They did just that. Our bats came alive early with Brynn [Williams] and Jersey [MacMillan] both putting one over the fence to bring in crucial runs.”
Lily Hammond pitched a complete game, and the team was solid defensively, with Katie Braid tracking everything down in centre field and Jordyn Chetyrbok making the final out at shortstop to seal the win.
“It was a big win that punched our ticket to the Canadian championship,” Hammond said. “I couldn’t be more proud—these girls really came together this past weekend and pushed through the heat.”
The Phillies opened round-robin play with a 9–2 win over Smitty’s Terminators, where the bottom of the order powered a seven-run fifth inning. Brynn Williams, Kara Powroznik and K. Zaretsky combined for four hits and three RBI, while MacMillan led the team with two runs driven in.
The team stumbled in their second game, falling 10–0 to Eastman Wildcats, but bounced back Friday with a dominant 12–1 win over the Manitoba Angels. Zaretsky went 3-for-3 with a home run, double and single, while Lily Hammond held the Angels to just two hits over five innings.
Later that day, the Phillies were overpowered by Central Energy in a 14–3 loss, despite a three-run homer from Zaretsky in the fourth.
MacMillan responded on Saturday with a five-RBI performance in an 11–3 win over Winnipeg Lightning, and the Phillies’ bats stayed hot despite a 17–9 loss to Westman Magic. Sara Vande went 3-for-4 with two doubles and Powroznik added three more hits.
In the rematch against Westman on Sunday, MacMillan again led the offence with three hits, including a two-run homer. Williams also homered, while Paige Bernier and Katie Braid chipped in key RBI hits.
Wednesday’s medal game saw the Phillies jump out to an early 5–0 lead against Central Energy, but a pair of big innings swung the game in Central’s favour. Interlake gave up 12 unanswered runs in the third and fourth innings, eventually falling 14–5.
Still, the Phillies finished third overall—an impressive result for a team that had never beaten Westman this season before Sunday.
“Our biggest game was that one against Westman to get us into the medal round,” said Hammond. “Everyone played a part in these games, from top to bottom. Our bats were hot and the pitching helped pull out some wins.”
The Phillies now look ahead to nationals, where they’ll face top teams from across Canada.
“We’ve got a couple weeks to get prepared for nationals, and we’ll be ready to go,” said Hammond, who also noted five players will be graduating to U17 next season while six are eligible to return. Tryouts for next year’s U15 squad are expected in early September.
“We hope to see a lot of girls come out.”
