From the ‘Wack comes word Parksville’s Bantam Girls Rage showed plenty of pluck and bagged themselves a bronze medal at the provincial softball finals.
In action in Chilliwack alongside the best teams in B.C., the Rage went 3-1 in the round robin.
According to team manager Sheryl McNichol, in the Rage’s first playoff game against Ridge Meadows, the locals found themselves down 9-2, but never gave up and battled back on a two-out rally to win 14-13.
Back at it later that evening under the lights against Abbotsford, the locals had to dig deep again for a thrilling 14-12 win.
The Rage came up short the next morning against Langley, then saw their shot at gold slip way with a close 7-5 loss to Abbotsford.
The fan support from competing teams, and the positive comments from outside coaches, said Sheryl, “made these girls and coaches proud.”
“The (Rage) girls represented Oceanside Minor Softball, and showed that Parksville girls can compete with the best in the Province,” said McNichol.
“The season went really well,” confirmed Rage coach Kris McNichol, adding, “the girls worked hard. We did better then we did last year — we had the best team I’ve ever coached out there this year. We came fifth last year, so it was a step up for sure.”
Beyond the bronze medal, Kris said the highlight was all the positive feedback he got about his team.
“I couldn’t walk 15 feet at the tournament without somebody stopping me and commenting on how well our girls were playing, how professional they handled themselves on and off the field.”
The Rage have made the BCs every year since their inception three years ago. They finished ninth in their provincial debut as Peewees. Much of the same team will be back next year when the team moves up to Midget.
Good news for the game locally is that the Rage program could be adding a third team next year. They will have a Midget (17-18 year olds) and a Bantam team (15-16), and will add a Squirt team (11-12). For details on the softball program, call Kris at 25-.954.-7510.
