Spruce Haven hours before a three-day softball tournament begins in Melfort (Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

By Ben Tompkins

Melfort Minor Softball

Melfort softball taking over this weekend

Jun 14, 2024 | 5:15 PM

A huge girls softball tournament in Melfort has just begun, as teams from across Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta have come together for U13, U15 and U17 action.

The first game began at 4:30 p.m. Friday, at Spruce Haven where three of its fields are being used to accommodate a combined 33 different ball games.

“We’re very excited, this is our big fundraiser for Melfort Minor Softball every year and we’ve been able to partner up with the 222’s fastpitch team to help us out,” explained Melfort Minor Softball Association President, Jessie Spencer. “Melfort is kind of their hometown and they like to give back that way, so it’s always an exciting weekend.”

There will be games ‘under the lights’ both tonight and tomorrow, with games also beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Spruce Haven (Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

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In total, there are five U13 teams, nine U15 teams, and four U17 teams. Each will play a pair of round-robin games before playoffs begin Saturday night and end Sunday afternoon.

There will also be a skills competition on Saturday, as each teams picks some of their players to compete in different skills.

“It’s kind of something that not all tournaments do, so it’s kind of fun and the 222s will be running that. There are prizes and things like that for each team, so that will take about an hour or so,” Spencer added.

Each game will last at least an hour and a half, with no new inning being able to get started past that point.

Teams come from Brandon, Saskatoon, Warman/Martensville, Melfort, Prince Albert, Humboldt, Meadow Lake, Regina, and Sherwood Park.

“This is a really fun weekend for the girls and it’s just really good ball. They bring some of the best teams from all over the place, so it’s really good to watch. I know we tend to line up with the car show too, so we usually get some trickle over. If anyone likes to watch softball, it’s a good weekend to come and watch,” Spencer told northeastNOW.

“This is our biggest money maker which helps us give back to all of our house league teams. It buys equipment for everything and we put it back into the diamonds.”

The finals on Sunday will begin at 2 p.m.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

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