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Abbotsford Outlaws win provincial gold

U12 softball team excels at provincial rep B tournament
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The Abbotsford Outlaws U12 rep B softball team celebrates a provincial title earlier this summer. The team posted an impressive record of 57-4-2 during the 2019 campaign. (Submitted)

The Abbotsford Outlaws U12 rep B softball team are provincial champions.

The club, made up of players from Abbotsford, Mission and Chilliwack began training back in October in preparation for the start of the season at the end of March.

All that training seemed to pay off in the regular season, as the Outlaws dominated league play with a record of 20-2 and outscoring the opposition 279-81. The team also entered four tournaments, winning gold in three and taking home silver in the other.

The Outlaws then moved on to the district tournament play downs, which included two Abbotsford teams and two Langley teams with the winner earning a position to attend the 2019 Softball BC Provincials U12 rep B tournament in Duncan in July. The Abbotsford Outlaws won all four games placing first in districts play downs earning a berth at the Softball BC Provincials.

The Outlaws qualified to attend the provincials and battle against 15 other teams from across British Columbia for gold. The club won four round robin games on the first two days of the tournament, including wins against Vancouver (6-4), Ladysmith (10-1), Delta (8-1) and Duncan (7-5) to secure top spot in the round robin.

Abbotsford then won their first knock out game against Richmond 12-2. Pitcher Eden Fitch was solid, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out seven. The Outlaws followed that up with 3-2 loss to Langford in the next round, meaning Abbotsford would have to win four in a row to reach the provincial final.

The journey to climb back to the finals began against Kelowna, and strong performances by Keely Willlard and Brennaugh Harman helped secure a 5-2 win. Next up was a re-match with Delta and the bats came alive with Avrey Steele, Eden Fitch, Tia Dunn, Kailey Rempel, Jordyn Roscoe, and Addison Goodale all had one hit to lead the Outlaws to a convincing 8-0 win. Both Edan Fitch and Tia Dunn combined on the mound for six strikeouts.

The Outlaws next took on Cloverdale, the only team to have a better regular season record than then, and the game was a defensive battle which featured a highlight real catch from Emily Krulitski in center field. Avrey Steele and Addison Goodale both went two-for-two at the plate, and the team combined for seven hits to record a 2-1 win and advance the Outlaws to a rematch with Langford in the Finals.

The finals saw the Outlaws take an early lead and never look back. Addison Goodale, Eden Fitch, Keely Willard and Hailey Roscoe all drove in runs en route to a 10-4 win and a provincial gold medal.

Overall, the Outlaws compiled an incredible record of 57 wins, four losses, and two ties and were aided by coaches Ryan Steele (Head Coach), Stu Dunn (hitting), Ryan Krulitski (fielding) and Craig Fitch (pitching).