Richmond 2000A Islanders closed out a terrific season on a high note at the U19 Canadian Championships at Softball City in South Surrey.
The Islanders concluded the 24-team tournament with three straight wins in consolation play, including a 9-7 win victory the Manitoba Thunder on Saturday afternoon in their final game of the 2018 campaign.
Richmond jumped on the Manitoba pitching in the early going, opening up a 7-2 lead after two innings. Two more runs in the sixth provided the difference after the Thunder rallied for three runs in the fourth and another pair in the top of the seventh. Emily Latrace, Jenny Campbell and Nicole Salas each drove in a pair of runs. Caitlin Gordon and Izzy Dino shared the pitching duties.
It was the girls’ second straight win over a Manitoba team after rolling to a 7-2 triumph over the Smitty’s Terminators to start the day. Richmond erased a 2-1 deficit with three runs in the top of the fifth and never looked back against the Manitoba champions.
Maggie Lawson, Caitlin Redmond and Salas each had three hits. Brooke Stoilen drove in a pair of runs. Dino went the distance for the win.
The Islanders had begun consolation play with a 5-1 win over the Quebec Rebelles, avenging a loss a day earlier by the same score to close out the round-robin portion of their schedule. Caley Dunlop had two hits, while Latrace was credited with two RBI. It was another impressive outing in the pitching circle for Dino.
Richmond had earlier gone 2-5 in round-robin play that included heartbreak extra inning losses to Saskatchewan champion Saskatoon Selects (2-1) and the host White Rock 2000 Renegades (7-6).
The Islanders had opened the tournament with a 6-1 victory over Calgary Adrenaline and also rolled to a 7-0 triumph against the Winnipeg Lightning. Miranda Herle drove in a pair of runs against Winnipeg, while Emilie Sherritt had two hits.
The championships were dominated by Ontario teams with the Waterloo Ghosts cappping a perfect 10-0-0 run with an 8-6 win over provincial rival Windsor Wildcats in the final. Delta 2001 Heat won bronze.
Richmond earned its trip to nationals after a runner-up finish at the provincial championships two weeks earlier in Victoria. The Islanders roster also features Harper Gibson and Kasey Wright. The team is coached by Troy Latrace with assistants Bill Sherritt and Scott Stoilen.
