The U16A Red Deer Rage rode a perfect weekend to a provincial championship title.
Red Deer knocked off the Calgary Kaizen 4-1 to win gold at the Softball Alberta Provincials in Sherwood Park and had an impressive showing in the process.
They went 4-0 in round robin, outscoring opponents 28-1 in the process.
To open the tournament, Dani LeBlanc pitched a complete game and Emma Meraw had two hits in a 5-1 win. Red Deer won game 2, 5-0 and got a complete game, one-hit effort from Rayna Cruickshanks. Paige Simpson also had a home run. Simpson turned around and pitched a complete game in a 9-0 win over the High Park Honey Badgers, and went 2-for-4 with four RBI at the place. Cruickshanks also had three RBI.
U16A Provincial Champs!!!!!!! @RageFastball pic.twitter.com/EXZWFvbCK7
— Jill Meraw (@jmeraw) July 22, 2019
In the quarter-final, they ousted the Lloydminster Liners 8-1, with Kate Hansen and Hayley Dickson each notching a pair of RBI. In the semi-final, the Rage advanced to the final with an 8-7 win in extras. Cruickshanks earned the win on the mound, Simpson was 2-for-3 and Gracie Hodgson had three hits and three RBI.
In the final, Red Deer knocked off the Calgary Kaizen 4-1 to earn gold. Cruickshanks was the winning pitcher and Hodgson went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Hodgson had seven hits and five RBI in the Rage’s last three games of the tournament.
The Rage roster included: Darby DeRuyter, Paige Simpson, Rayna Cruickshanks, Dani LeBlanc, Gracie Hodgson, Lauren Domoney, Bailey Donison, Hayley Dickson, Emma Meraw, Kate Hansen, Randi Kusk, Dylan Rusnak. Coaches were Head Coach Heather Chatwood, assistant coach Jason chatwood, and assistant coach Cassandra Kirkham.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter