MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- After a season filled with success, the Moose Jaw U13 A Ice have claimed the biggest prize in the province.
The Ice went undefeated throughout the weekend at the Softball Sask championship in Regina, eventually defeating the Saskatoon Hustlers 12-8 in the gold medal final to claim the provincial championship.
As a result, the Ice will be the top seed from Saskatchewan when the Western Canadian championships take place in Brandon during the Aug. 1 weekend.
The Ice didn’t leave much to chance throughout the tournament, either, posting dominant win after dominant win.
It all started on Friday afternoon, as Moose Jaw opened their round robin with a 17-6 win over the Regina Lazers. Their first game Saturday wasn’t much different, as they pounded out a 13-3 victory over the Prince Albert Aces. The Ice then booked their spot in the championship round with another mercy-rule win, this time 13-3 over the Saskatoon Raiders.
Things didn’t change much on Sunday morning in their quarterfinal, as the Ice rolled to a 14-5 win over the Melfort Spirit, guaranteeing themselves at least a medal game and a shot at a Western Canadian berth.
They’d lock down that top three finish with another lopsided rout, getting past the Twin City Angels 12-3 in five innings.
Riley Ziffle led the way for Moose Jaw at the plate in the semifinal, going 2-for-3 with a double, home run, run scored and no less than six runs batted in. Evelyn Stokes was 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, while Chloe Beliveau was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Ziffle started on in the circle and allowed three runs on four hits over three innings, Lily Kwasnicki finished things off with two innings of scoreless work.
Things were relatively close in the final against the Hustlers, as Moose Jaw took a 4-3 lead out of the first and were only up 9-6 through three. The Ice would tack on two more runs in the fifth, though, and their 12th run in the sixth made things all but academic. Saskatoon got two back in the bottom of the sixth, but would get no closer.
Stokes put together a 4-for-4 game that included a pair of doubles, three runs scored and a pair of RBI to lead Moose Jaw in the gold medal game. Atlee Feiffer also had a perfect game at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while Ava Waldenberger-Evans knocked in three runs.
Ziffle pitched three innings and gave up five runs on seven hits, while Kwasnicki tossed four and allowed three runs while striking out 11.
The Ice will now have a couple of weeks off to prepare to face the best in the west from Aug. 1-4 in Brandon.
