Peewees and squirts take top spots at tourny

Terrace’s minor softball teams played terrific games at Smither’s annual tournament June 9 - 10.

here is the 2012 Peewee minor softball team: from the back, left to right, coaches Dennis Bannister and Kevin Rose, Travis Bannister, Tyber Sharples, coach Errol Mutschke, Dylan King. At front, from left to right, Clayton Rose, Rhett Mutschke, Jackson Gagnon, Conor Watt, Ryan Praticante, with MJ Wraight lying in front.

here is the 2012 Peewee minor softball team: from the back, left to right, coaches Dennis Bannister and Kevin Rose, Travis Bannister, Tyber Sharples, coach Errol Mutschke, Dylan King. At front, from left to right, Clayton Rose, Rhett Mutschke, Jackson Gagnon, Conor Watt, Ryan Praticante, with MJ Wraight lying in front.

Terrace’s minor softball teams played terrific games at Smither’s annual tournament June 9 – 10, with both the squirts and the peewees taking first place in their division.

The two bantam teams didn’t fare so well, taking 3rd and 4th place.

Terrace’s four minor softball teams headed to Smithers for the weekend, ready to play rain or shine.

Lucky for them, the sun made a rare appearance.

“It was a beautiful weekend in Smithers,” said Jenice Wright, president of Terrace Minor Softball. “It was incredibly warm and it was sure nice to soak up some vitamin D. Our teams did fantastic.”

The squirt team, coached by Jen Lindstrom and Heath Muller, took first place. In one exciting game, Delany Kitchen caught an infield pop fly for the first out, tagged first, then threw to second base for Mason Ritchie to tag and get three out — resulting in a triple play.

“The fans were thrilled,” said Wright.

The peewee team, coached by Kevin Rose, Dennis Bannister and Errol Mutschke, breezed through the tournament, going into the final game undefeated.

They won their final game and took first place in their division.

The teams backcatcher, Tyber Sharples, was awarded team MVP for his great contributions to their win.

Wright said the short season has been a success so far, with the kids enjoying the games (and, until Smithers, not the weather) and the parents and volunteers eating, sleeping and breathing baseball.

“We are very grateful to the parents and our local business sponsors who do volunteer and put many hours on the ball field during the week, as well as practices on the weekend,” she said.

Without sponsors and parental involvement, this great group of kids would not be able to play.

The league is gearing up for Terrace’s annual tournament, held this weekend the 22-24.

Following that, the combined Peewee team coached by Geoff Watt of Terrace and Scott Groves of Smithers will be heading to Surrey to compete in the Summer Games July 19.

 

Terrace Standard