The Moose Jaw U12 B Ice took that to heart and then some in their two-game set with the Lumsden Cubs on Sunday, walking a total of 47 times in 52 plate appearances on their way to 20-6 and 15-11 victories.
The Ice improved to 6-2 on the season with the wins and are back in action Tuesday night against the Regina Saints.
Ice 20, Lumsden 8
Sophia Johnstone and Georgia Fowler had the only base hits for the Ice, who walked a total of 23 times in the game.
Part of the issue is new rules sent down from Softball Saskatchewan that don’t allow runners to score on passed balls or wild pitches, meaning only walks or hits can bring runners home. That made for long innings and plenty of pitches, whether they were strikes or not.
All told, the Ice scored the maximum five runs in each of the four innings, with every player coming around to score at least once. Joelle Boechler and Jayden Babich had three walks each.
The Ice pitchers, meanwhile, were largely able to be effective against a young Lumsden team, as Avery Funke gave up six runs on one hit and 11 walks while striking out six before giving way to Johnstone, who didn’t allow a run while giving up a single hit along with five strikeouts and three walks over the final two innings.
Ice 15, Lumsden 11
The second contest lasted only three innings before running into time constraints, with the Ice again scoring the max five runs in each frame.
Funke and Boechler had the lone hits for Moose Jaw. The Ice saw a total of 22 walks over the three innings, with Johnstone and Hardwicke walking twice and scoring, while Tessa Hamdorf and Aurora Wingenbach also scored two runs each.
Fowler, Hamdorf and Wingenbach combined to surrender the 11 runs on 18 walks and one hit while striking out six.
