MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- After the amount of success the Moose Jaw Ice had during the first two weekends of Softball Sask provincial championships, the U15 A team will be looking to keep the roll going this weekend in Prince Albert.
And they couldn’t have asked for a better start.
One of the pre-tournament medal favourites thanks to a 44-9-1 overall record on the season, the Ice rolled to an 11-0 three-inning win over the Regina Royals Elite in their first round robin game of the event on Friday afternoon.
After taking a 1-0 lead out of the first inning, Moose Jaw began to run away with things with six runs in the second and then invoked the mercy rule with four more runs in the third.
Callie Bell led the offence with a 3-for-3 outing that included a home run and four runs batted in, while Charlize Hillmer was 1-for-1 with a pair of walks, home run, four RBI and a pair of runs scored of her own. Tara Bell crossed the plate three times, Aspen Olafson scored a pair of runs.
As the score would indicate, things went well in the circle for starter Avery Garthus -- no runs, no hits, five strikeouts and only two walks away from a perfect outing. Aurora Wingenbach finished things off, striking out two of the three batters she faced in the fourth inning.
The Ice return to the field at 6 p.m. on Friday when they face the Saskatoon Lasers and will have most of the day off on Saturday before taking on the East Central Wolverines in their final round robin game at 5:30 p.m.
The top two teams from each pool advance to the championship round, meaning the Ice will likely need one more win to get things done in that regard.
The semifinals are at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, followed by the gold and bronze medal games at 4:30 p.m.
The top three finishers will advance to the Canadian championship in Ile-Perrot, Que. during the Aug. 14-18 weekend, with the next three finishers playing in the Western Canadian championship Aug. 2-5 in Battlefords.
Be sure to visit www.softball.sk.ca for up-to-date scores from throughout the weekend.
