(Melfort U13A Spirit Softball/Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Comeback Queens

U13 Melfort Spirit win provincial gold, earn spot in Westerns

Jul 14, 2025 | 5:00 PM

A local softball team became provincial champions this past weekend and will head to Westerns at the beginning of August.

The U13A Melfort Spirit were crowned in Saskatoon, defeating the hometown Hustlers in comeback fashion, 11-10 in seven.

“It’s still kind of surreal at this moment, and it was definitely quite a day of ups and downs, that’s for sure,” head coach Kevin Stoneman said.

“Honestly, when we were down two runs going into the bottom of the seventh, I didn’t even feel like we were going to lose the game. The resilience of these girls has been there since the beginning of the year, just the way they battle and stick together. Some of the parents have nicknamed us the comeback queens, because it’s just what we’ve been doing all year. It’s really stressful as a coach, I don’t like the comeback wins and would definitely rather a straight out win, but you take what you can get.”

Now they take a ticket out to Westerns in Abbotsford, B.C., where they won’t just be battling the best the province has to offer, but the best on this side of the country.

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That tournament doesn’t begin for another three and a half weeks, though, so lots needs to be done in the meantime to make sure this team is ready to play.

“It’s gonna be exciting, and I know there’s lots of work to be done behind the scenes to get there. It’s a commitment, but the excitement for the kids is definitely going to be there. I like our chances going there, I think we have a really strong team, and like I’ve said before, great group of kids, the best I’ve ever coached. So far up till now, it’s been pretty unreal,” Stoneman said.

“I honestly believe preparation is the key to success. If you’re not prepared, you’re going to get beaten… I’m going to do what I think is necessary to give the girls the best chance to win. I also just want to make sure that they really embrace the opportunity and try their best and have fun.”

While many practices will occur between now and Westerns for this specific Spirit group, the plan is also to set up some games with other Saskatchewan teams to stay in game shape and maintain a high compete level.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

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