Team Manitoba finished with two more wins than last year and played for a medal at Baseball Canada’s Women’s 21U Invitational Championship in Stonewall.

Our province settled for fourth place as Nova Scotia scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning en route to a 14-4 victory over Manitoba in the Bronze Medal game Sunday at Quarry Park.

“I’m really, really impressed,” said Team Manitoba head coach Jeremy Culleton. “We took a big step with our 21U program. It’s a difficult age group because you have so many kids working and college and different things like that. I kind of sat them down and said this is what I want, this is my goal - our goal is to make the medal round and then we’ll see where it goes from there. Achieving that goal is great but bitter sweet a little bit because you get there and then you want more obviously.”

Manitoba lost it’s opening round robin game on Friday 13-1 to Ontario and then defeated Saskatchewan 15-2.

Our province clinched a spot in the medal round thanks to a 6-3 victory over Quebec.

Team Manitoba lost it’s round robin finale 4-3 to Nova Scotia at noon on Saturday.

That set up a semifinal match with Ontario later that night.

Manitoba plated two runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 4-4 but then watched the defending champions score the walk off run in the bottom of the inning.

“We were very proud of ourselves and our effort against Ontario,” said Team Manitoba shortstop/pitcher Katie Heppner of Winkler. “That was super exciting and under the lights too. Every kid dreams of that. We played solid defensively. We hit the ball well. Our pitching was unreal that game. They just happened to beat us in the bottom of the seventh.”

Coach Culleton said the time they put in and the effort the players put in were the reasons they were so competitive in Stonewall after failing to win a game in 2017.

“You’re travelling from all corners of Manitoba and you’re coming to Stonewall for practices and spending a weekend in Vassar. These girls travel all over the place. You can’t say enough about them. Sometimes they don’t get the credit they deserve and hats off to them for keeping up with baseball because it’s not an easy sport to stay in.”


photos courtesy Merlin Heppner