The Unity/Kindersley Royals faced a lot of uphill battles this season, but it all paid off with a Western Canadian Ladies Junior B Championship title.
The Royals defeated the Winnipeg Lightning 4-2 in the gold medal game on Monday afternoon at Caribou Heights Field.
“The girls are ecstatic,” said Randy Ervine, coach of the Royals. “Win or lose, we couldn’t have asked for better chemistry. We faced many uphill battles here this weekend…this team just doesn’t know what quit is. Its just positive attitude.”
The Royals won the Softball Saskatchewan Junior B provincial title in July in Moose Jaw to earn their spot at Westerns.
After a long weekend, the Lightning couldn’t be happier with their performance in Moose Jaw.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the girls, said Ray Meilleur, head coach of the Lightning. “We did exactly what we wanted to do — get to the final game. I guess it just wasn’t in the cards for us today. We just couldn’t get that key hit.”
Monday’s game was a rubber match between these two teams, as they played twice throughout the weekend, each team claiming a win. The Lightning finished in first place in the round robin action and the Royals were second.
“We knew what a good team they were and they were classy team. We knew we could beat them and we knew they had beaten us,” said Ervine. “But it was a rubber match and we stressed that before the game.”
The Royals scored one run in the second inning after Natalie Kiefer scored a run. The Royals would add three more runs in the fifth inning using small ball and bunt situations to move and score base runners. The Lightning scored a run in the sixth and seventh inning, attempting a comeback. Briane Meilleur went 3-for-4, including a single in the final inning to cut the lead in half.
The Unity/Kindersley Royals faced a lot of uphill battles this season, but it all paid off with a Western Canadian Ladies Junior B Championship title.
The Royals defeated the Winnipeg Lightning 4-2 in the gold medal game on Monday afternoon at Caribou Heights Field.
“The girls are ecstatic,” said Randy Ervine, coach of the Royals. “Win or lose, we couldn’t have asked for better chemistry. We faced many uphill battles here this weekend…this team just doesn’t know what quit is. Its just positive attitude.”
The Royals won the Softball Saskatchewan Junior B provincial title in July in Moose Jaw to earn their spot at Westerns.
After a long weekend, the Lightning couldn’t be happier with their performance in Moose Jaw.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the girls, said Ray Meilleur, head coach of the Lightning. “We did exactly what we wanted to do — get to the final game. I guess it just wasn’t in the cards for us today. We just couldn’t get that key hit.”
Monday’s game was a rubber match between these two teams, as they played twice throughout the weekend, each team claiming a win. The Lightning finished in first place in the round robin action and the Royals were second.
“We knew what a good team they were and they were classy team. We knew we could beat them and we knew they had beaten us,” said Ervine. “But it was a rubber match and we stressed that before the game.”
The Royals scored one run in the second inning after Natalie Kiefer scored a run. The Royals would add three more runs in the fifth inning using small ball and bunt situations to move and score base runners. The Lightning scored a run in the sixth and seventh inning, attempting a comeback. Briane Meilleur went 3-for-4, including a single in the final inning to cut the lead in half.
After the Royals won the first game on Friday, then dropped the first versus second round robin game on Sunday, the Lightning were looking forward to playing the Royals again on Monday.
“They are a good team,” said Meilleur. “This was an achievement that we wanted to get to — the gold medal game — we got there, but just didn’t get to the top.”
For more on this story, read an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
After the Royals won the first game on Friday, then dropped the first versus second round robin game on Sunday, the Lightning were looking forward to playing the Royals again on Monday.
“They are a good team,” said Meilleur. “This was an achievement that we wanted to get to — the gold medal game — we got there, but just didn’t get to the top.”
