The 2005 Richmond Islanders softball team continued to steamroll through the season, capturing gold at the prestigious Canada Cup in South Surrey.
Playing in the Showcase Select division at Softball City, the girls were up against 24 other U17 teams in the tournament, from as far away as Saskatchewan.
However, the Islanders won all but one of their eight games in the lead-up to the gold-medal tilt, thanks to outstanding pitching from Lindsay Lim and Samantha Jung and catching from Paige Sever.
The championship game was against the Central Saanich Extreme who went into an early, 2-0 lead, scoring two runs in the top half of the first inning.
Islanders come back strong to win gold
But the Islanders came back with strong batting in the bottom of the second inning and scored nine runs.
The rally included a double by Izabel Taylor and singles by Jung, Sever, Lim, Marley Goodhew and an error on a ball put in play on a bunt by Rebecca Wosk.
In the end, the Islanders beat the Extreme 10-3 with Jung pitching through four innings and Lim replacing her to finish off the fifth and final inning due to the mercy rule.
The Islanders didn’t commit a single error in the field the entire game.
The remainder of the Islanders’ roster included Madison Wong, Takara Orange, Abby Mischke, Aika Wang, Ashley Mercer, Caeli Yamanaka and Rylee Sagert (injured). They are coached by Michelle Akizuki, Kelly Sagert and Mike McFarland.
The Canada Cup win is the Islanders’ third tournament win this season.
