On two occasions, the Surrey Storm ’93 were so close to defending their national championship.
But both times, the Brantford Bobcats erased a deficit, and went on to post a 4-3 win in 10 innings in the final game of the Under-19 Canadian Women’s Fastpitch Championship Sunday in Winnipeg.
“We lost, but at the end of the day it was a gold-medal performance by the team,” said Storm head coach Kim Wright. “They kept battling hard for 10 innings, and wouldn’t give up.
“I asked the team before the game to leave everything they had on the field, and walk off at the end with no regrets. They did that.”
The two rivals were tied 2-2 after the regulation seven innings, until Sammie Olexa homered in the top of the 10th to put Surrey back in front.
The Bobcats quickly fought back with a single from the lead-off hitter to start their half of the inning. One batter later, another single tied the contest, and an error left the baserunner on third base. Two intentional walks loaded the bases, setting up the winning run on an infield hit.
The Storm broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth inning with a two-run single from Janelle Smith. The Bobcats responded in the bottom half of the frame with a two-out, two-run home run.
Surrey shook off a slow start to the tournament. After two straight losses, they won five in a row to finish among the top four teams going into the double knockout playoff.
They began their playoff run with a 5-3 win Friday over the Guelph Gators, with Jaycee Affeldt driving in the winning and insurance runs with a two-out double in the fifth inning.
Affeldt was also the winning pitcher, striking out 10 batters and not issuing a walk.
Surrey then lost a 2-1 decision to Brantford Saturday afternoon, giving up both runs on a fourth-inning home run.
Facing Guelph again in a semifinal contest Sunday morning, the Storm earned a second shot at Brantford with a 3-2 win.
Tessa Loewen and Affeldt were tied for the team batting lead in the round robin, each going five-for-14 for a .357 batting average. Affeldt led the tournament with three doubles.
n The Surrey Storm ’97 and Delta Heat ’97 were both eliminated after two playoff games at the Under-14 Fast pitch Jamboree Aug. 17-21 in Vaughan, Ontario.
The Heat won their first five games of the competition, losing their sixth and final game of the round robin to place second among nine teams going into the double knockout playoff.
Delta was upset twice on Saturday, losing 3-2 to the third place Mississauga Hurricanes, then getting blanked by the host Vaughan Vikings 2-0.
The Storm went 2-4 (won-lost) in the round robin, and with a seventh place finish in the round robin, went into the playoff just a loss away from elimination. Surrey won their first game 7-3 over the Brampton Blazers, then were defeated 4-2 by the Guelph Gators
