The Sundre U-12 girls' softball team recently brought home gold following a first-place finish at provincials in Edmonton.
“The girls played their hearts out and they were pretty excited to win,” said coach Jenna Packer.
They went nearly undefeated throughout the entire tournament, suffering only one defeat against the team from Sedgwick — who won 12-6 and also made it to the final — during the four games played in the regular round robin, said Packer.
“Then we rallied in the final and beat them 14-3.”
The girls had also won a tiebreaker to proceed to the semifinal against Camrose, which the Sundre squad won 13-2 to secure their chance to claim the provincial championship title, she said.
“The girls definitely came out and wanted to go for the gold. They came out to play ball.”
There were 16 teams from throughout the province competing during the July 6-8 tournament. The Sundre girls had just a couple of weeks previously competed in zones and beat Olds as well as Airdrie to earn their spot in provincials, she said.
Packer, who coaches the squad with Jen Marfleet, said the competition — which also included teams from Calgary, Edmonton, Lacombe and Bonnyville — was good, and that there was a mix of close games as well as runaway sweeps.
“We mercied a couple of teams,” she said.
The girls played really well as a team, supporting one another and working well together, she said, adding they battled hard to come back in the final against the team that had beat them in the round robin.
“They had to play really hard to come back and beat Sedgwick,” she said.
“They all batted really well in that final.”
A focus on batting during practices definitely paid off in the end, as did efforts to improve fieldwork like getting in front of and stopping grounders, which the girls earlier in the season had initially struggled with. But whereas they once were shy to block grounders, which can sometimes bounce unpredictably, they did not miss any during provincials, she said.
The gold medal victory at provincials ended their season on a high note, she said.
“It was a really great way to end the season for these girls — I think they’re already excited to play again next year.”
There were two U-12 teams in Sundre this year, and the squad that went to provincials drew a roster from both, she said.
“We combined the girls born in 2006 to take to provincials.”
Cody Jackson, Tabitha May and Packer coached one team with Korie Graham managing, while Jen Marfleet, Jenn Phillips and Brandi Kinsley coached the other squad with Nancy Svatos managing. Additionally, Debbie Overguard was also recruited to help coach in Edmonton since the team needed someone with a level 1 coaching certificate on the bench. Meagan Blackhurst also lent a hand during zones in Olds, said Packer.
“We wouldn't have been able to have this adventure without them.”
The coach, who lives northwest of Sundre, extended her appreciation not only to volunteers who help out with Sundre Minor Ball but also to all of the parents and spectators who throughout the season came out to support and cheer on the squad.
“They were really great fans,” she said.
“It really helped the girls play to the best of their ability to have that support behind them.”
