The Gibsons Crusherz picked up a bronze medal after a third place finish at the U19 C softball provincials in Richmond.
The medal is the third in four years for the Gibsons association who battled against stiff competition despite not playing a lot of competitive games this season.
The Crusherz played in two tournaments, placing first and third, and won the district play downs at the beginning of June in North Vancouver, which booked their spot into the provincials July 4 to 6.
The top 16 teams from around the province were on hand seeking gold.
Gibsons won all four round robin games — 5-1 over Chilliwack, 6-5 over Richmond, 3-2 over the Peninsula Power from Vancouver Island and 8-5 over Alberni Valley.
“Out of all the teams that I have taken to provincials over the years, this year was by far the most competitive,” said coach Sean Whalen.
Gibsons stayed hot as the playoff round started, beating a second Richmond team 9-4 and the host Richmond team again 8-1.
That put Gibsons into the semifinals against Cranbrook who were also undefeated at 6-0, but Gibsons fell 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning.
That dropped the Crusherz into a must-win game against View Royal from Vancouver Island, but Gibsons ran out of gas losing 7-5, settling for the third-place finish.
“Overall, with the amount of games we played compared to the other teams, our girls were just excellent,” Whalen said. “We went a full month between competitive games. There is only so much you can do in practice. What cost us in the end, no question, was a lack of playing time for our girls.”
Whalen said the whole team contributed to the medal-winning performance, but made special mention to the pitching duo of Leah Ewert and Ellen Fallis.
“They pitch, they hit, and they play stellar defence. They were probably the best pitching combination at the tournament. Combined, I think they has 80 strikeouts between the two of them,” he said. “Taylor Fiedler and Sophie Skeath at short and first were just excellent. Charli Johnston and McKayla Carr-Weeks really set the table at the top of the line-up, and Alyssa Black came out of nowhere. She played the tournament of her life.”
Whalen is hoping that more girls see the success that has been achieved at this level and hopes more players will come out next season.
“I’d hate to say that this could be it for us, but it might be unless we get more girls interested in softball,” he said.
To get involved, call Whalen at 604-740-7541.
