The regular season was all about preparation and it paid off with a provincial championship title.
The last two seasons, the coaching staff of the Langley Xtreme senior B women’s team has compiled a schedule that saw them play up against more A-level teams.
“So when we get seeded for provincials, because the girls are playing that much harder because they are playing A team, it just transfers over,” explained Kerry Niven, who has coached this particular group of players for the past four seasons.
Niven said the team is then able to use the experience gained from playing a higher level competition to their advantage.
And all of that paid off earlier this month, as the Xtreme captured the senior B women’s title at Softball City. The championships were held Aug. 1 to 4 at Softball City in Surrey.
The title did not come out of the blue, either, as the Xtreme entered three tournaments — including provincials — and won a pair of gold medals and a silver.
“There was definitely some talent and there was an expectation to perform and to win,” he said.
The Langley squad, made up of women between the ages of 22 and 25, went 3-0 in the round robin and then beat the Fleetwood Force Elite 13-6 in the quarter-finals.
They beat the New Westminster Riot twice to take the title, winning 8-1 in the semifinals and 7-3 in the finals.
In the finals — against a team they had mercied during round robin play — the Xtreme scored a pair of runs in the second, singles in third, fourth and fifth, and two more in the sixth.
“I think when the Riot scored those three runs, the girls decided to finish things off and finished the game off strong,” Niven said.
The team is made up of: Christina Blouin, Theresa Blouin, Amanda Dyck, Leah Dyck, Emily Fournier, Stacey Fournier, Breanna Guy, Kacy Hannesson, Jesica Hodge, Cody Irwin, Jenna McArthur, Heather Mitchell, Lara Nicoll, Laurie-May Quon and Amanda Wiebe. The coaches are Tracey Dyck and Kerry Niven.
