Quesnel’s U16 softball team will be looking to defend a provincial championship starting July 16, but not the same one they’ll be competing for.
The team is made up mostly of players who won the U14 championship in 2019. With COVID-19 preventing softball provincials in 2020, the team is looking to defeat the same teams, now two years older.
The team is coming into the tournament hot, winning a pre-provincial tournament in Kamloops. They defeated Prince George twice in the tournament, in rematches of the best-of-three Quesnel won to qualify for provincials.
“We got to remind them why we’re going to provincials and they’re not,” coach Ryan MacTavish quipped.
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Not only is MacTavish a proud coach, but he is also a proud dad.
“We pretty much got through it with one pitcher,” he said. “Our second pitcher doesn’t have much experience. Our number one pitcher is my daughter, Alexa and she’s pretty much the best pitcher around.”
Ace pitchers are an even bigger asset in the U16, when pitch limits are dropped. In U14 ball, pitchers are only allowed to throw a four innings in a game.
MacTavish said the goal is to come away with another provincial championship.
“We went to provincials two years ago, other teams didn’t really know who we are. I’m pretty sure they know who we are now,” he said.
Quesnel will kick off the provincials on July 16.
A U14 team from Quesnel also won a tournament in Kamloops.
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Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: cassidy.dankochik@quesnelobserver.com
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