Energy at Jays game
Back row: Lexi Nelson (Carman), Brooklyn McDonald (Mather), Payton Doerksen (Sperling), Zoey Pearce (Manitou), Kyra Penner (Altona), Jolyne Leclair (Notre Dame des Lourdes), Kylyn Shindle (Portage la Prairie)
Front row: Quinn Mclaren (Roland), Mackenzie Couling (Pilot Mound), Abbi Conrad (Swan Lake), Olivia Goderis (Swan Lake), Alexa Guilford (Crystal City)

 

The Central Energy U14 softball team recently returned from the Softball Canada National Championship Jamboree in Brampton, Ontario with a little hardware. The Energy claimed the Peel Division title by virtue of a 9-1 win over the Team Quebec Rebelles. This big win came on the heels of an 11-4 victory over Team PEI in the Peel Division semi-finals. The result left the Energy in 17th place at the tournament. It was a fitting way to wrap up a season that saw the Energy finish with a 16-3-1 record in the MLSSL, a 47-12-1 record overall and a Softball Manitoba Provincial silver medal.

Central claimed the Peel Division title on the strength of solid pitching from Alexa Guilford and Payton Doerksen and a big game at the plate for Mackenzie Couling who went 2 for 4 with 4 RBI. Zoey Pearce doubled and scored a trio of runs and Abbi Conrad added two more hits for the Energy. Guilford got the win, allowing 1 run on 3 hits in 4 innings of work with 5 strikeouts. The 9-1 win over the Quebec provincial team showed off the speed and aggressiveness that the Energy had been noted for throughout the season.

The Peel Division semi-final had the Energy squaring off against the provincial squad from Prince Edward Island. The Energy’s bats came to life in the game led by Conrad’s three hits and three RBI. Quinn Mclaren and Olivia Goderis hammered long doubles in the game and had RBI’s and Lexi Nelson scored a run and stole a base. Brooklyn McDonald caught a flawless three innings of work to give the Energy defense a boost. Guilford picked up the win with four strong innings that featured seven strikeouts.

The Energy entered the National Jamboree with high hopes for opening day. Playing the Saskatchewan provincial champion Prince Albert Aces they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and threatened to blow the game open with several bases loaded opportunities. The inability to cash in on scoring opportunities proved disastrous for the Energy as the Aces found their bats and clawed out an 11-10 win in a sloppy game. Mclaren went 2-4 at the plate for the Energy who stranded 12 runners, compared to the Aces 4. Doerksen started in the circle and took the loss for Central despite recording three strikeouts and only allowing three hits in her three innings.

The Energy would jump out to an early lead in their second game of the day against the provincial bronze medalist Halton Hawks from Ontario. An error-laden fifth inning would do them in however as they surrendered five runs and dropped a 10-3 decision to close out a difficult first day. Goderis was 1 for 1 with an RBI and a run scored for Central while Doerksen suffered her second loss of the tournament in the circle.

Day two started with a 5-4 walk-off loss to the ‘Ontario 4’ team from Mississauga North. Trailing 4-2 heading into the 4th inning the Energy rallied to tie the game but surrendered a run in the bottom of the 7th inning to fall to 0-3. Kylyn Shindle was 2 for 2 at the plate for Central while Couling went 1 for 1 with an RBI. Doeksen pitched four solid innings for the Energy allowing only 6 hits while Guilford took the loss despite two strong innings of work.

Three games were scheduled for the Energy on day three and they opened with another heart-breaker as they dropped a 2-1 decision to the British Columbia provincial silver medalists from Fraser Valley. A fourth inning run was all the offence Central could muster on what turned out to be a frustrating day for the team at the plate. Jolyne Leclair’s single in the fourth drove in Mclaren and set up some drama as Fraser Valley were earned a walk-off win on a 7th inning single. Goderis was excellent in the circle for Central allowing only one run and five hits in her three innings of work while Doerksen suffered a hard-luck loss despite only allowing three hits in her four innings of pitching.

Sitting at 0-4 the Energy were playing for a placement spot in their remaining two round-robin games but the Ontario provincial champion Brampton Blazers were not in a giving mood when the two teams met. The Energy grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning but a series of miscues in the fifth inning led to four Blazers’ runs and sealed the deal on an 8-1 Energy loss. Leclair and Shindle each went 2 for 3 at the plate while Guilford took the loss despite 4 strikeouts in her 4 innings of work.

The final round-robin match for Central featured a showdown with Ontario provincial finalist Lasalle Athletics. Guilford and Doerksen were outstanding in the circle for Central whose offensive woes continued as they fell 3-0. Conrad went 2 for 3 with a pair of steals in the loss as the Energy wrapped up a frustrating day on offense.

After a remarkably successful season that included a silver medal at the Queen City Classic in Regina and bronze medals at the International Classic in Winnipeg and Red River Rage in Fargo, the team will begin preparing for next year with tryouts running September 9 in Morden. Interested players can contact Graham Shindle at shindleg@gmail.com for more information.