OLDS — The Olds Minor Softball Association had one of its most successful seasons ever this year, as one team won gold and two others won bronze during provincials, president Duane Lowe says.
The U15B girls team won gold during their tournament, held July 19-21 in St. Albert. Also, the U13B and U11B girls teams each won bronze medals in their tournaments.
The U17C team also went to the provincials but didn’t qualify for the semi-finals. The U11C team didn’t qualify either.
The U15B Pistols beat Blackfalds Pirates 14-8 in the final.
Lowe, who served as head coach of the U15B team, is excited by their accomplishment, noting they finished the season with a 25-6-2 record.
“That's the first banner at that age,” he said during an interview with the Albertan. “In 2018 and 2019, we won the boys’, but this is the highest we've ever done in girls.”
“We've worked hard. This is year four with our team and we've been right there, but we haven't really got ‘er done and this, it's pretty exciting for a small association,” he added.
Lowe said the key to victory for the U15Bs was that the Pistols were solid in all three aspects of the game: offence, defence and pitching.
“If you have two of the three, you'll win,” he said.
It was hot.
“The girls fought through 38-degree weather and just the tougher team won,” Lowe said. “(We drank) a lot of water, a lot of Gatorade.”
It’s not the first time the Pistols have faced the Pirates.
“We and Blackfalds battled for the gold medal at most every tournament we went to, so it was good, they're good challenge for us,” Lowe said.
Another key for this very successful season is the fact that the Olds Minor Softball Association grew to about 122 members this year.
“Since COVID, we've been increasing each year,” Lowe said. “More people committed in the organization, from coaching to players and parents.”
Also, he said, there’s a lot of great talent in Olds and area.
That growing membership and the talent has led to more and more teams.
“We have teams from U9 to U17 competing at multiple levels,” Lowe said. “This is our first year that we've had three teams at a couple ages. It's growing in the younger ages, which is excellent for us.”
