Robin CareyB次元官网网址檚 teammates finished the season the only way they knew how, by playing the way Carey would have.
Carey, a Rock Heights middle school student, was only 13 when she . An , Carey would have returned for another season on the Victoria Devils B次元官网网址�04 fastball team.
On Sunday the Devils won the U14A provincials at home in View RoyalB次元官网网址檚 Centennial Park, defeating their chief rivals, the Fraser Valley Fusion, 18-1 in the final. It ended a hard season full of emotion.
Shortly after Carey died the team got together and , said Devils B次元官网网址�04 coach Luc Fournier, adding some of team members really struggled with her loss.
B次元官网网址淲e met again before provincials,B次元官网网址� Fournier said. B次元官网网址淭he girls said theyB次元官网网址檇 play the only way we know, to go out and play hard, thatB次元官网网址檚 CareyB次元官网网址檚 personality. She was gentle off the diamond, but intense and fierce on the diamond. The girls were motivated to honour her by playing determined to win the provincial title.B次元官网网址�
Right from the start of the regular season team and the softball community alike came together and was really close, Fournier said.
B次元官网网址淎t times weB次元官网网址檙e rivals on the field, but it put it into perspective how small the community is. The spotlight was always on our team.B次元官网网址�
Every tournament they entered people would come up to the Devils to share their condolences. Other teams would do something to honour Carey. One team put decals on all their helmets. Another held a moment of silence.
Last year, their first year in the U14 age bracket, the Devils B次元官网网址�04 finished 11th out of 14 teams at provincials.
This year, they knew they could improve.
The DevilsB次元官网网址� went 3-1 in the round robin, dropping the only loss 2-0 to their arch nemesis Fraser Valley Fusion.
That put them into the top into the double-knockout playoffs where they ran the table, defeating the Delta Heat (04) 7-0,
Fraser Valley Fusion 4-2, and the White Rock Renegades (04) 4-2 in the semifinals. That set up a rematch against the Fusion for the final, in which the Devils came out swinging to win 18-1.
B次元官网网址淔raser Valley had defeated us in two finals and a semifinal of the big tournaments this year, 10-0, 4-3, and 7-4,B次元官网网址� Fournier said. B次元官网网址淲e believed we were the deepest team in the tournament. We have a philosophy that we are only as strong as weakest link, and we are focused on developing all 11 players.
B次元官网网址淲hen other teams relied on top five or six players, we didnB次元官网网址檛, we were deep and through all the games in the sun those players got tired, but we were fresh. We could have played on for days.B次元官网网址�
The 2004 Devils are Averie Kehn, Davin Fisher, Juliana Parkes, Kierra Fournier, Abby Hazard, Olivia Boulding, Mika Bolli, Emma Wright, McKenzie Hiebert, Karley Telford, Naomi Robertson, and Robin Carey.
The B次元官网网址�04 Devils co-hosted the U14A softball provincials with the 2005 Devils who had a tough draw finishing 11th overall.
