Makena Simmons and Katie Newberry are in the hunt for a women’s softball medal at the Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ont.
Saskatchewan finished with a 3-1 record through the tournament round robin before defeating New Brunswick 8-0 in their playoff opener on Wednesday and taking a 4-3 win over Manitoba to advance to the tournament semifinal.
There, they’ll face Ontario on Thursday night after Ontario took a 10-0 win over Alberta.
Newberry didn’t get a chance to see action in the circle against New Brunswick, and for good reason, as Erin Kirkland was untouchable. The Saskatchewan ace would pitch a no-hitter, striking out six over five innings of work and walking a pair to secure the win.
Saskatchewan did most of their damage with a six-run second inning, and Simmons played a huge part in that, cracking a bases-loaded triple to bring home three runs. She’d finish the contest 1-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI.
Things were far, far closer in their quarter-final match-up with Manitoba, and once again, Simmons was a factor. Another triple in the fourth inning broke a 2-2 draw and gave Saskatchewan a lead they’d never relinquish. Team Sask added a key insurance run in the fifth, and Jordie Chartrand closed out a tense final inning to take the complete-game win.
The winner of the game between Saskatchewan and Ontario advances to the gold medal game at 3:30 p.m. Moose Jaw time Friday, the loser will play for bronze at 12:30 p.m.
Mykenzie Shymko and the Saskatchewan female box lacrosse team finished with a 0-3-1 record in the round robin and advanced to the qualification round, where they took a 12-1 win over P.E.I. on Wednesday night before falling 11-0 to Ontario in the quarter-final. They’ll face Manitoba on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in their final game of the tournament.
Saskatchewan left nothing to chance against P.E.I., taking a 3-0 lead out of the first period and building a 7-0 lead through two.
Symko finished with a pair of goals and an assist, with her first marker making it 9-0 4:11 into the third and second goal coming with 6:12 remaining in the game. Shymko’s assist came in on Saskatchewan’s fourth goal by Brooklyn Vancoughnett 2:41 into the second period.
A rough start against Ontario in the quarter-final on Wednesday night set the tone, as Saskatchewan found themselves down 7-0 and would never recover. Ontario tacked on two goals each in the second and third periods to secure their 11-0 win.
The consolation game should be far closer, after Manitoba and Saskatchewan battled to a 5-2 decision in the round robin.
Harry Lin and Team Saskatchewan went unbeaten in their preliminary pool, posting a 3-0 record, but lost their quarter-final match 5-1 to Alberta to drop into the consolation round. There, they’ll face Newfoundland for seeding position in the 2025 Canada Games in St. John’s, Nfld.
Lin picked up wins in all of his round robin matches, including a 6-2, 6-3 win over Manitoba’s Jacob Yee in Saskatchewan’s 5-1 win and a 6-0, 7-6 (4) win over Nova Scotia’s Mark Rainne in Saskatchewan’s narrow 4-3 win to finish the preliminary round.
Lin ended up in an absolute barnburner with Alberta’s Tyler Waddock in the quarter-final. He’d drop a 6-2 decision in the opening set before winning 6-4 in the second and dropping a 7-6 (1) decision in the deciding third set.
Moose Jaw Kinsmen Flying Fins competitors Damian Chartrand and Makaya Arnott continued their work in the pool over the last couple of days.
Chartrand finished 36th overall in the 200m breaststroke on Tuesday, touching the wall sixth in his heat in 2:26.45. He put together his best performance of the Games on Wednesday with a 1:14.67 in the 100m breast, finishing third in his heat and 18th overall.
Chartrand capped his appearance at the Games in the 50m freestyle and swam 27.75 to finish fifth in his heat.
Arnott was back in the pool on Wednesday in the 200m fly and won her preliminary heat in 2:24.54 but would finish 44th overall. Her second race of the day came in the 100m fly and she swam 1:24.46 to finish fourth in her heat and 47th overall.
Arnott wrapped up her Games showing on Thursday in the 50m backstroke, touching the wall in 35.27 to land fifth in her heat, with the finals to go later in the day.
Check out www.niagara2022games.ca for all the results from the event.
