The Junior B Ladies' Fastball Championship was won by the host team in Unity last weekend.
This gives the team back-to-back provincial championships as they prepare for the Western Canadian Junior B Ladies' Fastball Championships, hoping to repeat in that tournament as well.
After forecasters worried event planners about impending rain, the sun reigned supreme on a beautiful opening day of the tournament. Dozens of volunteers looked after the gate, grounds keeping, scorekeeping and other duties.
Eight teams from around the province came to compete for the championship. The U.K. Royals, as host team, drew a large crowd for their opening match against the Moosomin 981 Predators, last year's Midget B provincial champions.
Following opening ceremonies at 6 p.m., which included marching in the teams and brief introductions, teams went to play draw two. Long-time dedicated volunteer, Mary Anne Gaetz, threw the opening pitch. She has spent over 40 years on the diamonds, scorekeeping for both softball and baseball.
The Royals' first game was complete with exciting and aggressive base running that resulted in several rundowns. Moosomin gained momentum early, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning.
The second inning was scoreless and third inning saw the Royals score their first run by Jenna Wood.
The fourth inning saw Unity come back with three runs, leaving the game tied until Moosomin scored one more in the bottom of the fourth.
The fifth inning saw some controversy with a call on first base that was disputed by both home and away coaches resulting in the initial umpire's call being overturned and resulting in a second out for the Royals. This lengthy discussion led to a momentum swing that saw Moosomin bring in three more runs, leaving the end of the fifth inning with an 8-4 Predators lead.
The sixth inning saw no runs by either team.
A comeback was mounting in the seventh inning. The Royals were down to their final out as they got a big hit, scoring three runs. It was too little, too late. Unity put up a valiant effort, but couldn't complete the comeback.
Saturday's games started out with an overcast sky and light breeze. What was thought to be a tight match up in the morning draw between Alameda and Saskatoon G Force ended in an 11-3 win by the G Force.
The U.K. Royals faced off against Moose Jaw in their morning game. The bats were working early, but so was the defense. The Royals had two on base in the third and were looking for a timely single, but it didn't come.
In the bottom of the second, short stop Chelsea Robertson made a fantastic grab and throw for a double play to end that inning with the Royals leading 2-1.
Triples in the third and fourth innings by Kelsey Wildeman, along with aggressive base running, put the Royals up 11-1. They didn't let up, and ended up winning 15-1 in five innings.
Game three for the U.K. Royals was no contest. With a large contingent of the Squirt Panther Eclipse cheering loudly through the game, the Royals batted in run after run.
Kelsey Wildeman's second inning triple brought in three runs, which started the eight run inning.
Charnelle Jellison shone in the bottom of the third inning. The third baseman recorded all three outs for the Royals in the inning.
The Eclipse showed a little life in the fourth, but could not get past the Royals defence, losing the game 17-2.
Because there were no tiebreakers to be played, the quarter finals were moved up to Saturday at 5 p.m.
The top three teams from each pool advanced. From this championship, the Moosomin 981 Predators and Saskatoon G-force headed to the National Junior A finals while the remaining top two teams of the event advance to Western Canadian Junior B Fastball Championships in Leduc, Alta. over the July 25 weekend.
Saturday night's quarter finals had the host U.K. Royals squaring off against Alameda Royals.
Alameda came on strong, getting two runs in the first inning.
Jellison hit a stand up triple for Unity that resulted in the only run for the team that inning.
Alameda came on again with another three runs, but that only fired up the host team even more as they blasted the ball, bringing in seven of their own. The second inning ended with the U.K. Royals up 9-5.
Things kept slipping away for Alameda from here as their bats became ineffective against the heightened U.K. Royals defense. Alameda changed pitchers three times, but could not stop the offencee of the host team as they won the game 15-7.
The first game bump the U.K. Royals experienced was long behind them and they advanced into the finals Sunday, already guaranteed a spot in Leduc.
Sunday saw the Royals start off against the Saskatoon Eclipse and had no trouble defeating Saskatoon 9-2 to advance to semi-finals against the Saskatoon G-Force.
The semi-final was a closer game than the Royals had been used to. Again, the big bats of Wildeman and Alex McAdam, in addition to effective bunting skills and base running, led the Royals to a 6-3 win.
This led the Royals to the final against first place team, the Moosomin 981 Predators. The Royals would need to win twice to clinch the provincial title. They kept their bats working and their defensive skills shone as they overtook the Predators 13 -5 in game one of the final series.
The Predators drew first blood in game two by coming out of the second inning with a 4-1 lead.
The Royals were persistent. After six innings of play it was a 7-3 ball game for the Royals and they had one more inning to hold off the Predators.
With the bases loaded and one out, the Royals switched pitchers and all the excitement came in the following three minutes.
The bases were still loaded and the Predators' fourth run was walked in. The crowd quieted in anticipation of a major swing in the game. A high fly to centre field was caught in an amazing act of athleticism and determination by Natalie Kiefer and the crowd roared at the second out. But, in the meantime catcher Marley Ervine headed to third base, knowing the player had not tagged up and completed the double play. The Royals jumped up and down as provincial champions.
