For two days, the Park Hotel Colts got the job done with defence, pitching and clutch hitting.
Sunday their offence was the catalyst as they repeated as Softball Saskatchewan Intermediate B provincial champions.
The Colts beat the Regina Vipers 8-1 in the final after beating the Moose Jaw Hustlers 8-1 in their semifinal. The Vipers beat Moose Jaw’s KCS Marketing Slammers 3-2 in the other semifinal.
“Our bats were a little slow to start off, but we really picked it up when we needed to,” said Colts outfielder Nicole Allport. “We knew we had to (come out quickly) against the Vipers. They’re infamous for being a hard-hitting team. I thought it pretty key that we stepped it up and got on the scoreboard first.”
The Colts finished the round robin unbeaten in first place, but needed extra-innings to beat both the Slammers and the Hustlers.
The Colts exploded out of the gates offensively as they scored six runs on seven hits in the first inning.
Keri Merkel hit an RBI double, but Deleigh Lacelle hit the biggest blow, with a bases-clearing three-run single. Melanie Hopkinson drove in the sixth run which ended the day for the Vipers’ starting pitcher.
“We didn’t put a lot of runs on the board until (Sunday),” said Colts coach Terry Banilevic. “It was nice to see the bats come alive, but they were only really there for one inning. We chipped away and got a run here and there, but it would have been nice to get some more runs on the board.”
Banilevic may have wanted more runs, but the Colts didn’t need them.
Hopkinson and Allport drove in runs in the third inning to push the lead to 8-0.
Colts pitcher Sandi Gray was on top of her game and her defence backed her well. It was fitting that the game ended when Danielle McEwen tried to stretch a double into a triple and was thrown out at third thanks to a good throw, relay and tag. The double drove in a run, but wasn’t enough to prolong the game.
Allport and Jackman were both 2-for-3 with a double. Hopkinson was also 2-for-3 at the plate. Gray allowed only six hits to earn the win.
For more please see Monday's Times-Herald.
