Expectations were exceeded by the Summerland Scorch U16 C girls softball team in Cranbrook July 3.
The Scorch lost 11-6 to the Enderby Storm in the Softball B.C. Provincial championship game to earn a silver medal.
“It was hugely gratifying and unexpected,” said Scorch co-coach Mike Wright, as his team lost following 12-straight hours of play. “We weren’t really expected to be in the top five or six.”
A loss in their first playoff game forced the Scorch to win three straight just to advance to the final. In the championship game, their fifth straight game, tied at three in the fourth inning, the Scorch ran out of gas. Wright and his co-coaches Dave Martin and Gene Stafford were proud of the players, with the determination they showed.
“It was a really gutsy performance,” he said. “We fought right until the end. Even the last batter was a 14-pitch battle for Enderby to win it. Even though we were down five runs, we never quit.”
A highlight for Wright was after losing to the Fleetwood Jr. Bandits in the first game on July 3, they returned to beat them in the semifinal to advance to the final.
“We were mercied (10-3) by them,” he said. “Everybody expected them to beat us in the semifinal game. To come back and win 4-3 was really a gutsy performance.”
The Scorch placed fourth after the round-robin with wins over the North Shore Thunder, Barrier Cedar Kings and the Duncan River Cats. They had a tough loss to the Kamloops Diggers in their final round-robin game.
