MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw Ice are in the win column at the Softball Canada U19 Canadian Championship in Saskatoon.
The Ice closed out the first day of play on Wednesday with a 14-5 win over Alberta’s Southern Revolution but couldn’t keep the momentum going, falling 7-0 to the Manitoba provincial champion Smitty’s Terminators in their first game Thursday.
As a result, Moose Jaw is currently 1-2 in the tournament with three round robin games remaining Thursday and Friday.
Moose Jaw 14, Southern Alberta 5
It was as good a start as the Ice could have asked for in their second game of the day Wednesday, as five runs in the first inning and four in second gave the local crew a quick 9-2 lead. They’d tack on two more in each of the third and fourth innings before invoking the mercy rule after scoring their final run in the fifth.
Alexa Edmands led the way at the plate with a 2-for-2 showing that included a double, two runs scored and four runs batted in while Rayelle Cooley was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI. Makena Simmons scored four runs despite not getting a hit, while Kate Zukewich and Macy Litzenberger also crossed the plate twice each.
While Moose Jaw had only seven hits, control issues plagued the Southern Alberta pitchers as they gave up 12 walks in the contest.
Katie Newberry got the start for Moose Jaw and allowed two runs, one earned, in two innings of work before giving way to Jamison Langlois, who gave up three runs, one earned, on four hits over the next two innings. Zukewich then closed things out with a scoreless fifth.
Ava Fougere led Alberta’s offence with a pair of runs scored and two RBI.
Macy Pickett started for the Revolution and allowed four runs while getting a single out in the first inning. Jada Kezema took over and went the rest of the way, giving up nine runs, five earned, on three hits and 10 walks.
Smitty’s 7, Moose Jaw 0
The Ice ran into Team Canada pitcher Danika Nell in their first contest Thursday, and it’s safe to say she had a pretty decent game in the circle.
Nell struck out 13 of the 15 Moose Jaw batters she faced through the five-inning contest and would finish with a perfect game when the mercy rule brought things to an early end.
Only two Ice batters made meaningful contact -- Litzenbeger on a ground out to short in the first and Edmands on a pop fly to Neil in the fifth.
The Terminators did all their damage in two innings, scoring four runs in the second and another three in the fifth, finishing with nine hits total.
Janaya Watt led the Smitty’s offence with a 2-for-4 game that included a run scored and three runs batted in, while Laura Ransome was 2-for-3 and also crossed the plate.
Ava Unser got the start for Moose Jaw and allowed four runs on six hits over four innings of work; Zukewich gave up three runs on three hits in the fifth.
The Ice are back on the field late Thursday against the B.C. Cloverdale Fury before taking on Vaughn, Ont. Vikings and Fraser Valley, B.C. Fusion in their final two round robin games Friday.
