So far, so good for the Moose Jaw Ice at the U15 AA provincial fastball championship.
The tournament-host Ice posted a 2-0 record through the first day of competition at Optimist Park, taking a 12-4 win over the Regina Royals Rush to open the event on Friday morning before rolling to a 7-3 win over the Melfort Spirit in game two of the round robin.
As a result, Moose Jaw holds down first place in their pool heading into their two preliminary round games on Saturday.
The Ice wasted no time getting things going in their tournament opener, as a three-run first inning and five-run third contributed to a 10-4 Moose Jaw edge through four. They’d tack on two more runs in the sixth to secure the commanding win.
Sophia Johnstone had a solid game at the plate in the opening bout, going 2-for-3 with a triple, run scored and two runs batted in, while Charlize Hillmer was 1-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and a pair of RBI.
Blake Maltais and Tara Bell also had a pair of hits and a double each, with both knocking in a pair of runs as well.
Avery Garthus picked up the win on the mound, going three innings and allowing four runs on six hits and striking out five before giving way to Kensington Demassi, who held Regina to two hits and struck out five the rest of the way.
Things were a touch closer against the Spirit, as after building a 4-0 lead through 3 ½ innings, the Ice saw Melfort pick up a pair of runs in the fourth. A nifty defensive play by pitcher Taryn Friesen escaped any more damage in that inning, though, and Moose Jaw would get both those runs back in their half of the inning.
Bell had another good game at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and a run batted in, while Johnstone and Garthus were both 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Friesen allowed three runs, one earned, on four hits while walking five and striking out three over four innings. Demassi again finished things off and had an identical line to her first game with two hits and five strikeouts over three innings.
The Ice are back in action on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. when they take on the Saskatoon Raiders before finishing off the round robin at 2:30 p.m. when they take on the Twin City Angels.
The top two teams from each of the four round robin pools advance to the quarter-finals at 8 a.m. Sunday, followed by the semifinals at 1 p.m. and final at 3:30 p.m.
All games are at Optimist Park, and be sure to click here for up-to-the-minute results.
