The U17 AAA Interlake Phillies tested themselves against some of the country’s top softball clubs at the 2025 Western Canadian Championships in Regina, Sask., last weekend.
The Phillies and Central Energy represented Manitoba after finishing third and fourth at provincials in Stonewall two weeks earlier.
The Phillies opened strong on Thursday’s opening day with back-to-back wins — edging the Saskatoon Selects Red 6-5 before rolling past the Medicine Hat Thunder 14-6.
Friday brought turbulence against the two British Columbia entries, as the Phillies dropped both games to fall to 2-2 in the preliminary round.
Needing at least one win on Saturday to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Phillies shut out the host Regina Royals 7-0 in their morning game.
They then battled hard against the Calgary Adrenaline in their round robin finale but fell 3-1.
With a 3-3 record, the Phillies were tied with the Lumsden Cubs for the final playoff spot. The two teams met later that evening in a tiebreaker, with the Phillies squeaking out a 4-3 win in a nailbiter to advance to Sunday’s playoff round.
There, they faced the Ridge Meadow Pride, who had beaten them decisively earlier in the tournament. This time, the Phillies kept it close. Trailing by a run heading into the seventh inning, they scored twice to take a 6-5 lead.
The Pride refused to fold, however, plating two runs in the bottom of the inning to walk off the Phillies and end their Westerns run with a fourth-place finish.
“The team played really, really well. I was very happy with our performance, and I think the girls should be very proud of themselves,” coach Taylor Hagen said Monday.
Hagen said the Phillies made major strides this season, with only four players aging out to U19. He pointed to their Westerns performance and their bronze-medal showing at provincials on home field as season highlights.
For Westerns, the Phillies added depth with the acquisition of Danica Chaske from the U17 Smitty’s Terminators.
“She was very instrumental in helping us achieve what we did at Westerns,” Hagen said.
Eight players are eligible to return next season. Lucy Hoff, Kiera Shutz, Kassie Siwak and Paige Powroznik will now move on to U19 after finishing their U17 careers in Regina.
“They’ve been fantastic,” Hagen said. “They’re all leaders in their own way, and they’ve been great.”
