The Moose Jaw Ice have reached their first goal for the Softball Sask U15 AA provincial championships -- make the playoff round.
Now it’s a matter of seeing if they can win out the rest of the way and claim gold on home soil at Optimist Park.
The Ice finished the round robin with a 3-0 record thanks to a pair of wins on Saturday, as Moose jaw defeated the Saskatoon Raiders 13-4 in their morning game before battling to a 2-1 win over Twin Cities (Martensville and Warman) in their afternoon match.
As a result, the Ice are off to the quarter-finals at 8 a.m. Sunday and will face the second place team out of the Black Pool -- with the Lumsden Cubs (1-1) likely that opponent pending the result of their match with the Saskatoon Phantoms (0-2) later Saturday.
The Ice wasted little time getting things going against the Raiders, as three runs in the first and four more in the second would give the tournament hosts a 7-0 lead through two innings. Moose Jaw then led 9-3 through five when they tacked on four more runs in the sixth to invoke the mercy rule.
All told, the Ice would crank out 20 hits, with every player reaching base at least once.
Gracelyn Blanchard led the way with a 4-for-4 game that included two runs scored and three runs batted in, while Blake Maltais and Tara Bell were both 3-for-5, with Bell scoring three times and Maltais twice. Taryn Friesen also scored a pair of runs, and Chloe Giraudier was 2-for-4 with three RBI.
The Ice pitching staff saw to it things weren’t going to be close, as Avery Garthus tossed the first two innings and allowed a single hit before giving way to Avery Funke, who pitched the final four innings and allowed four runs, two earned on three hits while striking out seven.
Things were far closer in their next match-up, as the Ice scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to secure the win.
Blanchard scored Moose Jaw’s first run, drawing a one-out walk, going to second on a sacrifice by Charlize Hillmer and third on a wild pitch before scoring on a passed ball.
The Angels tied the game in the bottom of the inning, but the Ice put up the winning run the next frame. Blake Maltais hit a two-out double and went to third on an error on the same play before scoring on a single by Tara Bell, with both players finishing with a pair of hits.
Friesen started for the Ice and allowed the one run through four innings, striking out four, while Demassi finished things off, allowing two hits and striking out five over the final three innings.
The U15 AA provincials continue all day Sunday, and you can keep up to date with all the scores right here.
