MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- It took winning a handful of games with their backs against the wall and their most impressive win streak of the season, but the Moose Jaw Ice got the job done at the Western Canadian U13 Softball Championship.
After winning their final round-robin game to force a tiebreaker, the Ice would claim victory in three straight playoff games on a rain-delayed Sunday -- including an 8-2 win over the Eastman Magic in the championship final -- to claim the title out of the nine-team tournament in Brandon.
The victory makes the Ice the first-ever Western Canadian U13 champions as well, as the 2024 tournament was the first of its kind.
It wasn’t the best of starts for Moose Jaw, as they sat a 2-3 heading into their final preliminary round game thanks to a 10-0 win over the Tri-City Titans, 8-1 loss the B.C.’s Ridge Meadows Pride, 12-9 win over B.C.’s Langley XTreme, 9-6 loss to Manitoba’s Interlake Phillies and 14-5 defeat at the hands of the Eastman Wildcats.
That made their final round-robin game against the host Westman Magic a must-win, and they’d get the job done with a barnburner 21-14 victory.
With both the Ice and Westman finishing tied at 3-3 for the final playoff spot, the two teams were right back on the field for a tiebreaker Saturday night, with Moose Jaw taking a 15-8 win and advancing to the medal round.
There, the Ice started the Page Playoff with a 14-10 win over a familiar opponent in the Saskatoon Hustlers and then rallied for a come-from-behind 16-13win over Interlake to book their spot in the championship final against the unbeaten Eastman Wildcats.
That contest was as close as could be until the Ice put up five runs in the sixth inning, setting the stage for an 8-2 win and the Western Canadian title
Here’s a look at how things came about during their playoff run.
Moose Jaw 14, Hustlers 10
The last time the Ice had faced their Saskatoon rivals, they took a 12-8 win in the provincial championship final. This time, there were a few more runs on the board, but the result was the same.
That’s not to say things weren’t close, though, as the game was tied 8-8 through five innings. Moose Jaw put up three runs in the sixth to take an 11-10 lead coming home, and after putting up another three in the seventh, Kayleigh Winslow retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning -- including a double play to end the game.
Lily Kwasnicki got the start in the circle and despite battling an injury managed to go 1 ⅓ innings, allowing five runs. Ziffle pitched four innings and allowed five runs on eight hits before Winslow finished things off with her perfect seventh.
Evelyn Stokes continued an incredible weekend at the plate with a 2-for-4 showing that included a home run, two runs scored and five runs batted in, while Ziffle went 3-for-5 was a home run away from the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a double, triple, three runs scored and two RBI.
Moose Jaw 16, Interlake 13
To say the least, things did not go well early for the Ice, as the provincial-champion Phillies put up five-run innings in the first and third to take a 10-3 lead heading into the fourth, all in support of two of the best pitchers Manitoba has to offer.
The Ice got two back in the fourth, though, and all of a sudden they couldn’t be stopped at the plate. A five-run fifth tied the game 10-10, and they’d tack on another four in the sixth to lead 14-11 heading into the final inning. Moose Jaw made it a five-run game heading into the bottom of the frame, and Interlake could only get a pair, sending the Ice to the final.
Stokes was at it again, this time going 5-for-5 with a double, triple, two runs scored and five RBI. Ziffle went 4-for-5 and scored four runs, while Winslow was 3-for-3 with a double and three runs scored. Ava Waldenberger-Evans had a pair of hits and knocked in two, Chloe Beliveau also had a pair of hits.
Kwasnicki gave it another go in the circle and allowed four runs in the first before Ziffle took over and pitched the next 3 ⅔, allowing five runs on six hits. Winslow finished things off, giving up three runs on five hits over the final three innings.
Moose Jaw 8, Eastman 2
The two teams found themselves in an epic battle through the first four innings, with Eastman picking up a pair of runs in the third to lead 2-1 before the Ice came back to tie the game in the fourth.
There things sat heading into the Ice half of the six, and five batters later, they’d have their five-run lead.
Winslow got things started with a single, Kamdyn Chute knocked her to third with a base hit, Madison Bauck knocked in Chute with another single and Beliveau loaded the bases with a walk. That brought Ziffle to the plate, and she took the second pitch she faced over the left field wall for a grand slam and one of the biggest hits in Moose Jaw Minor Girls Fastball history.
One inning later, it was all over, and the Ice were the 2024 Western Canadian softball champions.
Winslow started and allowed two runs and five hits over four innings, Ziffle finished things off allowing a single hit over the final two innings.
Ziffle finished the game 4-for-4 with two triples to go along with her slam, while Bauck was 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI.
As one might imagine, there’s always much, much more to winning a national title than the box score would indicate, and check back later Monday for a feature-length look at the Ice and their championship run with head coach Jeff Bauck.
