Vernon Bernie’s Taxidermy stopped West Kelowna Outlaws 17-16 in a nine-inning bronze-medal game Sunday in the Under 16 Girls final of the second annual Vernon Summer Fastball Classic at DND Fields.
After going 1-2 in the round-robin, Vernon mercied Kamloops 23-5 with Jaimee Gosselin earning MVP.
Vernon was down by one run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in the bronze-medal final. Dayna Hanley singled, stole second, moved to third on a Daina Bader single and scored on a Amy Potts’ single.
In extra innings, West Kelowna scored once and in the bottom half Gosselin started on second (international rules), moved to third on a Rhianne Busslinger single. The Outlaws walked Ali Roine to load the bases with nobody out. Sydnee Hughes popped up and then Bailey Williamson drove a double to right center to score the winning runs and earn game MVP. Alabama Chevrier went the distance on the mound.
Vernon beat West Kelowna (Roine MVP), lost to Kelowna #3 (Hanley MVP) and lost to Port Moody (Hughes MVP) in preliminary games.
Nikki Dean, Morgan Vanderzwan and Ali Crandelmire rounded out the Vernon roster. Coaches Ryan Williamson and Rick Gosselin praised all the girls for showing big heart and character all weekend.
A total of 34 teams from all over the province attended the classic. The tournament consisted of four divisions: U12, U14, U16 and U19, with teams playing a three-game round-robin.
Port Moody Pitch Black and the Kelowna Falcons led their U16 pools with Vernon third behind Port Moody. The Pitch Black overtook Merritt to face the Kelowna Edgecombe Homers for the gold with Port Moody prevailing.
After the round-robin, the U12 division saw Fleetwood Krushers and Kelowna Iron Maidens leading their pools with the Vernon Panthers finishing second in Pool A.
A single-knockout playoff round left Kelowna and Fleetwood playing for gold and Ridge Meadows Strikers and Westside Outlaws playing for bronze. The Krushers beat the Maidens for gold with the Strikers icing the Outlaws for bronze.
In the U14 Division, the West Van Wildcats and Cawston topped their respective pools, with Vernon’s Red Hot Chili Peppers second behind West Van. Vernon bowed out to Cawston in the first round of playoffs. Cawston iced the Wildcats to capture gold. The Prince George Panthers grounded the Westside Outlaws for bronze.
In the U19 division, 10 teams played it out with the Ladner Legit and West Kootenay Warriors leading their respective pools. The Vernon Heat, plagued by some minor injuries, finished fifth and pulled out a win in their final game of the weekend over the Summerland Scorch.
The Warriors brushed back the defending champion Legit for gold, while the White Rock Rage bounced the Kelowna Mustangs for the bronze.
The Heat, sponsored by Royal Canadian Legion #25 and coached by Tamara Dumont, opened by falling 18-3 to the Kelowna Warriors. Pitcher Shelby Munk earned the Heat MVP.
The Legion crew then bowed 13-1 to Quesnel with outfielder Caitlin Rolke taking MVP. They then bowed 8-3 to the White Rock Rage with catcher Mykaila Head receiving MVP.
Vernon finished play Sunday with a 10-6 win over Summerland. Lexie Edwards knocked in a pair of runs, while Munk almost earned a grand slam, bringing in three runs before being tagged out at home plate in a very close call.
Shortstop Stefani Anderson (MVP) and first baseman Keara Crandlemire showed stellar defence in the infield.
“The weekend was just awesome,” said tournament director Jodi Rolke, “The ball was fabulous in all the divisions with some really hard-fought games. It was a lot of hard work, but a very dedicated group of people made an event of this size possible, and I really appreciate all of them.”
Next up for Vernon are the U19 District playoffs, June 23-24 at Kin Race Track.
