The host Kelowna Heat more than held its own at the 2014 edition of the Spring Sizzle U16 B girls’ fastball tournament.
The Heat went unbeaten all the way to the final against South Delta, before settling for the silver medal on Sunday afternoon at High Noon Park.
Kelowna opened the weekend on the right foot with a 15-0 victory over Abbotsford to start the round robin. Emma Lewis led the way by tossing a one-hitter, and added a grand slam in her first at bat.
The Heat won their next three games to go 4-0 in the round robin, defeating South Delta Invaders 12-5, Kootenay Kodiaks 9-2, and Langley Xtreme 11-5.
Strong pitching from Gina Selfe and Ann-Marie Crandlemire as well as solid defense from the Heat team helped keep the opposition scoring low. Outstanding hitting from Candice Vuong, Tova Turnbull, and Sara Miki led the way for Kelowna, scoring 32 runs over the three games.
After earning a playoff bye with their strong round robin effort, Kelowna then defeated the Similkameen Kobau Koyotes 9-4 in the semifinal.
In the gold medal game, the Heat met the South Delta Invaders, who were riding on positive momentum as they had just defeated the Ridge Meadows Rage for the first time this season.
South Delta started quickly as they capitalized on some defensive errors in the first two innings by Kelowna.
The ensuing innings had Kelowna battling back, loading the bases on three occasions with solid offense by Nicole Fedorak, Shayla Tyerman, and Emma Gilbert, but the team was unable to take advantage and score most of those runners. The Invaders went on for a 7-3 victory to take the Spring Sizzle tournament title.
Other notable members of the Kelowna Heat that contributed to their silver medal finish are Cassidy Floritto, Ainsley Dillon, Emma Wilton, and Dani Knopf.
The Kelowna Heat continue their active tournament season as they play in Sicamous this weekend, followed by the Canadian Open in White Rock July 11 to 14.
