Innisfailian Brianna Weinrauch came home a champion after her Calgary fastball team took home a gold medal and a first-place title in the Western Jr. B Fastball Championships.
Her team, the Calgary Kodiaks, beat out the Winnipeg Lightning in the U-21 Women's category at the championships which took place July 24-July 28 in Leduc.
The team went undefeated through the tournament to earn the gold medal, and Weinrauch was the top pitcher of the round robin with an earned run average of zero.
She has pitched two complete championships in two years.
Although Weinrauch played for the Calgary Kodiaks at the western championships, she has not been on the team for a long time, as she only started playing with them in 2012. She finds playing on a larger, more competitive Calgary team to be more challenging and rewarding.
“I'm used to playing with them,” said Weinrauch. “They asked me to play with them for tournaments last year and I have been doing this more and more since then,” she added.
When the Kodiaks asked her to play with them for the western championships, Weinrauch didn't hesitate.
“We got gold, it was really amazing, she said.
“But we were expecting to do well. We were very impressed with the results,” she added.
Weinrauch, who is 20 years old, described the championships as something she is used to, and a place that is familiar.
She also played in last year's western championships with the Kodiaks in Abbotsford, B.C., and in the Nationals twice, once in Winnipeg and once in Oakville, Ont.
“Playing in championships is always stressful, but I was with a great team of girls,” she said.
“They are a good group of people to get along with and I have the support of the team behind me at every game.”
She went on to say that the teams they played against at the championships weren't strangers either.
“We already knew most of the teams who were there because we have played against them,” she said. “And as for the teams we didn't know, we got the chance to meet them. It's all about having a positive attitude.”
In addition to pitching, Weinrauch also plays first base and field.
“I have been playing fastball since I was two,” she said. “I love everything about it.”
In addition to the Calgary Kodiaks, she also plays for the Red Deer Panthers. “I cannot see myself not playing fastball,” she said, adding that even in the winter she practises about twice a week.
“It is a part of who I am. “
