The Estevan Southeast Elite U18 girls softball team captured a silver medal at a four-team tournament in Moose Jaw at Optimist Park on June 18 and 19.
The Elite began the tournament round robin by beating a Regina squad 26-1 in three innings. Daria Schaff and Cassie Blanchette led the Elite with a strong pitching performance, while every player on the team earned a hit with Tess Lindquist knocking one out of the park.
Estevan's second game of the round robin had the club take the field against the host Moose Jaw Ice. Lindquist had a solid game on the mound for the Elite, which ended up tying the Ice 5-5 in the contest.
The Elite fell 8-1 in their third game of the tournament against the Melfort Spirit despite a strong pitching performance by Lindquist and Blanchette. The 1-1-1 record placed the Elite in the two-versus-three semifinal against Melfort where the Estevan ballplayers redeemed themselves for the earlier loss by winning the game 6-4 thanks to an outstanding pitching display by Schaff.
Underage player Jenna Blanchette headed to the mound to face the Ice in the final and held her own throwing strikes and putting hit balls in areas where her defence could make plays. The Elite and Ice battled back and forth during the game with Moose Jaw eventually prevailing 4-3.
The tournament was the first game action of the season for the Elite, which includes players from Estevan, Lampman, Arcola, Carlyle, Radville, Oxbow and Carievale. Next up for the girls is the provincial championships in Saskatoon from July 8 to 10.
