The Richmond 2000A islanders up and down season appears to be moving in the right direction at just the right time.
The girls rep softball team earned a bronze medal at the U16A provincial championships in North Delta — going 6-2 over the three-day event.
"We've had a few tournaments where we did very well in the round-robin, only to stumble during the playoffs,” said Islanders coach Troy Latrace. “Going 4-0 in round robin play and placing first overall was a great accomplishment, but Sunday's games are where you really need to show what you are made of.”
Those early wins included triumphs over Delta Heat , White Rock Renegades ’01, arch rivals Renegades ’00 and a surprisingly strong Fraser Valley Fusion ’01 team.
“That first win over Renegades ’00 really set the tone for us,” continued Latrace. “Most of the year, they had our number but we jumped on their top pitcher early and never looked back."
In the first playoff game, the islanders drew Fusion ’01 — a team they narrowly defeated 2-1 in the round robin thanks to an outstanding pitching performance by Harper Gibson and a two out, walk off single by Emilie Sherritt in the bottom of the seventh.
However, this time, the Fusion found their bats, giving the Islanders their first loss and sending them on the bottom of the draw to work their way back up. Following a tight 3-0 victory over Carnarvan, they faced Victoria ’00 to guarantee themselves a medal.
Leading 3-0 in the seventh, Victoria fought back to tie it up and eventually took the lead in the eighth. Down a run with two out, it was not looking good, but a wild pitch scored the tying run, and then a second walk off single by Sherritt sealed the victory.
“Winning games like that doesn't happen very often, but we did it twice this weekend, and to do it to guarantee a medal makes it even more memorable,” said Latrace.
That led to a rematch with Fusion and the Valley team bats remained hot and the islanders could not keep up.
"I would have liked to make it one more game but overall I am extremely proud of these girls. Going into this tournament I would have said any one of five teams could win it. Now I would say any one of seven, so the strength and parity of the competition makes me feel even better about our results,” added Latrace.
The Islanders have drawn some excellent players from around the Lower Mainland but the six local players — all originals from the first year at U12— made significant contributions.
Beyond Sherritt and Gibsons' efforts, Kasey Wright and Miranda Herle played very well defensively and each scored the winning runs in the two walk off victories. Natalie Caras was a wall on defence, with only one error on 25 plays at 3rd base. Emily Latrace was 3-for-4 with two walks on day one of the champiionhips before a foul ball off the knee limited her play for the weekend.
The Islanders move on to this week’s Canadian Open then U16A Nationals in Montreal in August.
