This past weekend brought a close to our 2018 season. As a first year team in U14A there is a right of passage when you play the older teams. By the end of the season we had closed the gap and even started to have back to back wins against the 04's. At provincials we were given the toughest draw of the tournament. Our schedule was against all 04's and four of the top six in the province at that. The girls took the challenge head on and competed in every single game. We even entered the last inning tied in two of the games. Our largest defeat was only by five. Could not be more proud of how they handled themselves and how they played their hearts out all weekend. 14 teams in the tournament and 12 made a point of coming up and shaking our coaches hand. They gave their sympathies for the incredibly difficult draw and complimented the girls for their performances on the field and the character they showed off the field. Every one of those other coaches had a similar message, they couldn't wait to see what the future has in store for such a talented young team. That sure makes the season feel like a success. We would like to wish three of our players good luck in one last tournament though. One has been picked up by an 04 team to travel to Montreal and compete for a national title. Two others were named to the BC Select U14 girls baseball team and will compete in the Western Canadian Championships in Alberta. Well done ladies.

In their first full season together the Storm 06A team made a strong showing at last weekends Provincial tournament held at Cloverdale Athletic Park, taking home a bronze medal.  After a tough opening loss to the 06 Devils (5-9) the team found their groove and posted three straight wins in a row against the Renegades 07 (15-3), Fusion 07 (10-5), and a come back win against Pride 07 (8-7).  This put them in their first playoff game on Saturday evening against Pride 07.  Once again the Pride made a strong showing but they took the victory (9-3). Sunday morning came with an early 8am start against Renegades 06, which was a disappointing loss (4-1).  They knew if they lost they would have to play 5 games back to back to get into the gold medal game, which was going to be a tough task with temperature in the mid 30's.  In their second game Sunday they played Fusion 07 and defeated them (14-3).  Once again they played Pride 07, who just knocked out Devils 06, and was flying high. After a back and fourth game, they found themselves down 2 runs in their bottom half of the last inning. The girls dug deep and rattled off 3 runs and came out victorious to move on to the bronze medal game!  For the second time Sunday, and in their fourth game of the day, they were up against Renegades 06.  The game was scoreless until the fourth inning when the Renegades bats came alive and they had no answer back. Although a disappointing loss, the girls were extremely proud of their efforts and determination to earn the bronze medal in provincials. Overall, Storm 06A played 9 games in 3 days in sweltering heat, and came out with a medal around their necks and smiles on their faces. Although they were sad that the season had abruptly ended, and they would not see their fellow teammates and coaches for some time, they knew they overcame some great obstacles and ultimately came out victorious!

The Senior Storm won Gold at the 2018 Senior Provincials this weekend at London Park in Richmond. They lost only 1 game in the round robin and the Gold game was a 11-2 mercy over the Kaos from New Westminster! They now have won gold at the Provincials four times in the past five years. Congrats team!