The Melfort U14 'A' Spirit sporting their bronze medals from softball provincials in Regina. (Facebook/Regina Minor Softball League)

By Aaron Schulze

Spirit Win Bronze

Melfort U14 ’A’ Spirit wins bronze at softball provincials

Jul 15, 2019 | 5:00 PM

It may have not been for gold, but the Melfort U14 ’A’ Spirit ended their season on a winning note and are taking home medals from provincials in Regina.

After they finished first in the pool with a 3-1 record – including wins over the Regina Fighting Saints 13-3, Twin City Angels 11-2, and the Saskatoon Raiders 13-8 – the advanced to the semifinals against the Saskatoon Hustles late on Saturday, July 13.

The Spirit gave it their all at the plate and in the field while playing their fifth game in two days, as was the Hustlers, and they’d have to play double extra innings to decide who would advance to the gold medal game.

“Every team is working really hard at this point,” U14 Spirit Head Coach Cheryl Hunt said. “It had been a couple of days in the heat. We really held on well, unfortunately, sometimes the ball manages to find a hole the girls can’t seem to cover and it just doesn’t seem to go your way.”

A heartbreaking double inning 8-7 loss in the semifinals meant the Spirit would play on Sunday, July 13 against the same Raiders team they had previously defeated. The winner would play the Hustlers in the gold medal game, the loser would still take home bronze.

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Hunt said she and the Spirit typically meet postgame to talk about what transpired and what they want to do next. She assured her Spirit they had nothing to be upset about and they gave it 110 per cent and beyond.

“The goal is always to get your mindset right and regroup,” she said. “It just means we get to play an extra game. We talked about leaving any unhappy feelings behind and starting our Sunday fresh. The team that plays together the best is the one that’s going to come out on top and when we got together Sunday, everyone was feeling pretty good.”

The Spirit fell in another close 6-4 game to the Raiders, ending their 2019 competitive season with the bronze medal.

Still, the U14’s didn’t lose their spirit.

Along with winning the 222’s Fast Pitch Shootout at home, the Regina City Tournament, and finishing second at the Saskatoon City Tournament, Hunt is exceptionally proud of the bronze medals her Spirit had earned.

“There was a lot of really good competition this past weekend and everyone came to win,” she said. “Ending up third out of 14 teams in the province is nothing to hang your heads about. We took each event as an opportunity to play, learn, and what we’re going to take away from it. Some of the things we learned were factors at provincials, like how to deal with high temperature and calls that definitely don’t go your way. It’s been an excellent group to work with.”

Hunt expects a good chunk of her team to move up to play U16 softball, as there were over 20 girls at the U14 level to form an ‘A’ and ‘B’ team, but expects the U14 system to stay strong for 2020.

Provincials typically mark the end of a softball team’s season. However, the Spirit have one more opportunity to play in their hometown when they host the New Zealand ISA U14 Girls at Spruce Haven Park as part of the Super 8 2019 International Softball Series.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow