The Abbotsford Outlaws 2007-08B softball team captured gold at provincials.
The 16-team tournament was held July 8 to 10 in Port Alberni.
The Outlaws went a perfect 4-0 in the 16-team round-robin play to start the tournament.
Emily Sprott and Liberty Sharman collected two hits apiece in the opener, a 4-2 win over the Richmond Islanders. Kailyn Haig pitched five innings, striking out eight batters.
Sprott clubbed a grand slam in Abbotsford’s second game, a 12-2 whomping of the Kamloops Selects. The game was mercy-ruled after four innings. Sharman went the distance on the mound, striking out nine.
The Langford Lighting couldn’t get Sydney Clifton out in Abbotsford’s third game. She went three-for-three at the plate, as did Lucy Dueck. Paige Beck pitched four innings and got help from Avery Steele, who made an incredible play in left field to rob the Lightning of a home run.
Abbotsford wrapped up the round-robin with a 4-0 win over the West Kootenay Rebels, with Bella Gill driving in a pair of runs.
The Outlaws hit their first and only road block in their first playoff game when they were upset 3-2 by the Rebels.
In the double knockout format, they couldn’t afford to lose another, so they didn’t. Baily Purper hit a three-run homerun in an 8-2 dismantling of the Vancouver Wildcats, and Sharman collected a pair of hits and a pitching win in a 9-6 triumph over the Cloverdale Fury.
They gained sweet revenge on West Kootenay with a 9-0 mercy rule win and booked their ticket to the gold medal game with a 9-0 trouncing of the North Shore Stars.
The championship game was a rematch of Abbotsford’s first game against Richmond.
This time they came away with a 9-6 win and the provincial title.
Dueck was a perfect five-for-five at the plate. Sharman had four hits and Sprott three as Abby racked up 19 total hits.
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Haig, Beck and Sharman were the pitchers.
The full team roster includes Sharman, Beck, Sprott, Clifton, Haig, Dueck, Purper, Steele, Gill, Ella McDonald, Gurveen Badesha, Merrin Wilkinson, Naomi Klassen and Dayanara Donavon.
The Outlaws move on to the Western Canadian Championships, taking place Aug. 3-7 in Stone Wall, MB.
They are raising money for the trip through a GoFundMe, which can be found online at gofundme.com/f/abbotsford-outlaws-u15-western-championships.
- With files from Eric Welsh/Chilliwack Progress