Oak BayB次元官网网址檚 Tess Sawkins helped Team BC win the 16U Baseball Canada Championships in Nova Scotia last month.
Sawkins and Cowichan ValleyB次元官网网址檚 Ella Duncan-Reda formed a formidable Vancouver Island duo on the provincial team, both as hitters and also as a pitcher-catcher battery.
Team BC charged through the tournament on Aug. 22-25, winning every game, including four shutouts. After rolling through the round robin, B.C. knocked off the defending champs from Quebec 5-1 in the semifinals, then crushed Alberta 6-0 in the gold-medal game for the provinceB次元官网网址檚 first title in nine years.
Duncan-Reda and Sawkins were integral to Team BCB次元官网网址檚 success throughout the tournament, but really stepped it up in the playoffs. Duncan-Reda slugged her first-ever, over the fence homer to score the first two runs in the semifinal against Quebec 1, while Sawkins had a dinger of her own later in the same game.
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Sawkins then pitched the final to catcher Duncan-Reda, and held Alberta to five hits. As B.C. jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings, the game was never really in doubt, and the players just had to focus on keeping control.
B次元官网网址淕oing into the seventh inning, knowing we had the lead, we all knew we had to get three outs,B次元官网网址� Sawkins recalled. B次元官网网址淪o we all zeroed in on getting those three outs.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t was great,B次元官网网址� Duncan-Reda said. B次元官网网址淚t was really exciting.B次元官网网址�
Team BC carried three catchers, but Duncan-Reda handled most of the work, catching 26 of 38 innings, with some time at third base as well. Coach Marty van der Loos praised her abilities in the tricky position.
Sawkins played for the Victoria Mariners this summer, one of two girls in the B.C. Premier Baseball League.
Duncan-Reda and Sawkins were also on the provincial team that won the 14U Western Canadian Championships last summer, and van der Loos expects them to be key players for many years down the road.
B次元官网网址淲e have a very good core for the next couple of years,B次元官网网址� he said.
Duncan-Reda and Sawkins have been invited by a national team scout to attend a training camp in February 2020, which will be the next step toward making the national team.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e very fortunate to have a lot of girls coming from this program to the national program as well,B次元官网网址� van der Loos said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e trying to get it out there, and being successful helps.B次元官网网址�
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