A trio of North Okanagan players helped the Kelowna Heat claim the provincial U14 B Girls fastball gold medal last weekend in Maple Ridge.
Outfielder Emma Whilton of Vernon, along with Armstrong products Tova Turnbull, a first baseman, and Candice Vuong, a centre fielder and third basemen, boosted the Heat to a 9-1 record.
The Heat stopped the Surrey Storm 4-1 in Sunday’s final with Turnbull ripping a two-run double in the bottom of the fourth inning. Vuong stroked a single up the middle to keep a rally going in the seventh-inning.
Vuong and Turnbull provided clutch hits in a 3-2 semifinal win over Cloverdale. Whilton made an impressive diving catch in one of the round-robin games. Gina Selfe and Ann-Marie Crandlemire, both of Sicamous, were key members of a pitching crew that only allowed 14 runs against.
The Heat, coached by Doug Fisher and Boyd Tyerman, went 4-0 in preliminary play and after losing the second game of the playoff round to the Storm (2-1), they were forced to battle back with four straight wins Sunday.
Kelowna posted round-robin victories over South Delta, North Delta, Abbotsford and Vancouver, while stopping Abbotsford, North Shore, Ridge Meadows in their other playoff tilts. They scored 69 runs.
