With no reinforcements in their lineup, the Penticton Power under-14C girls fastball team struck gold in Port Alberni.
While other teams loaded up with two to three pickups to strengthen their rosters, the Power counted on the group that got them to provincials and were rewarded with a 7-6 win over the Langford Lightning in the Softball B.C. Provincial championship.
“It was awesome,” said Power coach Dan Wilson. “They just gutted it out. We battled injuries, one girl had heat stroke. The girls just battled hard and played unbelievable ball.”
The Power won the B pool, or what Softball B.C. calls the silver pool, after defeating the South Surrey White Rock Bluez, and the host Alberni Valley Blazers before facing the Lightning.
“The hitting through those three games was the best I’ve seen,” he said, adding that in their middle games the Power had moments they didn’t play as well as they could have. “Every player contributed. It was a great experience for the girls too. All three Okanagan teams (Kelowna Elite won gold in the A pool, the Kelowna Blue Jays won bronze in the same pool) brought home a medal, that’s pretty cool. Three of the four teams (Kelowna, Central Saanich Extreme and North Shore Angels) we played in the round robin all ended up in the top five.”
The Power won two of four games in round robin. A 9-0 loss to the Angels dropped them into the B pool, which had put them 11th out of 16 teams heading into the playoff action. The Power got a boost when they earned a 3-2 extra innings win against the Blue Jays, a team they never defeated before, to open the tournament.
After winning, the Power celebrated for about 10 minutes, including a large group hug, before packing up their vehicles to catch a ferry back home. Wilson said a party is likely to be planned.
