The Moose Jaw U13 A Ice knew heading into the minor girls fastball season that there was plenty of potential for a successful campaign.
The reason was simple -- after winning the South provincial championship as a U12 A team last season, the Ice saw almost the entirety of their line-up return when Softball Sask raised the age groups by a year across the board.
That meant the same crew that was all but untouchable in the 2021 campaign would have a chance to repeat their success this summer.
So far, so good.
The Ice went unbeaten through five games at the Shaye Amundson Memorial Tournament in Prince Albert over the weekend, defeating the Regina Saints 12-5 in the gold medal final.
Along the way, Moose Jaw downed the Melfort Spirits 6-1, Prince Albert Aces 13-0 and Twin City Angels 11-3 before tying the 2021 North provincial champion Meadow Lake Sox 8-8 in their final round-robin game.
The tournament was the first at the U13 A level for the Ice this season, and showed once again that they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
“We were pretty happy with how things went.” said Ice coach Shawn Okerstrom. “The teams we faced this weekend will be some of the top teams in the province, so we have a pretty good idea of where we stand now.”
The Ice have for the most part faced U15 B opposition this season, and for good reason. The team is planning to take the field in the Little League Softball Canadian regional championship during the July 29 weekend in Victoria, with that event using the same size ball, pitching distance and bases distance as the U15 level in Saskatchewan.
That’s also led to decent competition against older players, something that has worked well for the Ice.
“We wanted to try and take this crew to the next level, so we’ve chosen games and scenarios where we can stretch them, like playing mostly U15 teams,” Okerstrom said. “We’ve sought out those teams and had some good games against them, so it’s been really good. And other than a bit of a slow start on Sunday morning, we were pretty good with how we played in P.A. this weekend, too.”
The key to it all has been much the same as it was last season, and it all starts in the pitching circle. Aces Tayrn Friesen and Avery Garthus head a crew filled an enviable level of depth.
“We had depth at pitching last year, with five that we can go to, where most teams have at most two decent ones and after that they get stretched a little thin,” Okerstrom said. “So we take advantage of that and are outlasting them that way.”
Then there’s the offence -- it’s a rare game where the Ice don’t hit the five runs maximum in an inning, with the gold medal final in Prince Albert no exception. A five-spot in the second put Moose Jaw ahead 9-2 and they never looked back.
Friesen was 2-for-3 with three runs and a pair of runs batted in, while Avery Funke scored three runs, Kendall Menzies put up two runs and three RBI, Chloe Strueby was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI and Georgia Fowler 3-for-3 with two RBI.
“We worked a lot on hitting this winter, and our girls are hitting off of those top pitchers, even their number ones,” Okerstrom said. “I’ve had more than one other coach say to me ‘boy, can your girls hit’, so that’s been where we’ve really turned it up, for sure.”
The Ice are back in action in a week and a half when they take part in the Minot Storm Invitational during the June 19 weekend.
