U14 Thunder placed fourth

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Strathmore Thunder U14 girls fastpitch team took provincials by storm and placed fourth overall.
With early success in the Calgary event from July 3-5, the team dominated the opener. Starting with an 18-3 victory over St. Albert, they followed up with a 9-4 win over Wetaskiwin.
While the players faced defeat against the Clive Red Sox, they rebounded 13-1 against Red Deer in the final round robin game.
“In the games we won, we played well, our defense was playing really well,” said head coach Vince Olson. “The girls were hitting the bats pretty good, it was a lot of fun.”
In the game the team lost, they scored early but could not seem to find their offensive touch after that and watched the other team come back in the semi-finals.
“We scored four runs in the first inning and couldn’t score anymore, the other team got six on us,” said Olson.
Upon completing the round robin, the Thunder ended up placing second in their pool and made a semi-finals appearance where they drew Westaskiwin again, who played a tighter, defensive game in what turned out to be a pitchers’ duel.
“It was tight, it was exciting,” said Olson. “The pitching was great on both teams and the defense was great on both teams. In the end, they were the home team and they got the one run in extra innings.”
After the semi-final loss, the team played for bronze against Calgary-based West Valley where they fell short in the end of medalling.
The girls found the season a real eye-opener as they faced better pitching and defense, and now know what needs to be done to become better for next year.
“I think what defined us is our youth,” said Olson. “We made mistakes that young players make at that level, so you chalk that up to learning. Hopefully next year, those one innings that you have that all the mistakes, you get rid of them.”