The Steveston Athletics women's fastpitch club has captured its first-ever Softball B.C. provincial championship.
The Richmond-based team entered the senior “B” championships at Steveston-London Park last weekend hoping to medal after a fairly successful season of play in the New West Women's Fastpitch League. It proved to be much more and they did it the hard way.
After the two game round-robin portion of the tournament, Steveston faced Cloverdale to opening the double knockout playoff round. A tough 2-0 loss sent the Athletics to the loser's bracket.
In the late Saturday night game and facing elimination, Steveston defeated Fleetwood 9-4 to stay in the hunt on Sunday.
It would be a daunting task coming up from the losing side of the draw as the Athletics would need to win five games in a row, without a break between any games, in the stifling heat to capture the gold.
The memorable march began at 8 a.m. with a come-from-behind 3-2 triumph over the Richmond Islanders. Brianne Farrall got the pitching win with Karen Bell getting the last out and the save.
At 10 a.m., Lakehill from Victoria gave the girls all they could handle, but Steveston prevailed 2-1 in eight innings. Karen Bell pitched the entire game for the win.
At noon, Steveston took on the North Shore Avalanche and avenged a round robin loss with a 4-0 victory. Farrall went the distance for the shutout.
At 2 p.m. and with a medal now guaranteed, Steveston faced the East Kootenay Extreme, with the winner going to the championship game. The Steveston bats came alive with Danica Jayme and Vanessa Fabbro combining for seven hits and six runs en route to an 11-4 mercy-rule win in five innings. Karen Bell picked up the win on the mound.
The 4 p.m. gold medal game was played in 29C heat with no usual ocean breeze either. Steveston's opponent was the undefeated South Surrey Thunder.
Farrall started her third game of the day and worked into the fourth with her team in front 8-5. Lisa Andrijaszyn came in to pitch for the last two outs of the inning.
In the fifth, veteran Karen Bell stepping into the pitching circle. Her team scored a couple runs in the sixth to give the Athletics a 10-6 lead. Bell then shutdown the potent Thunder offence over the next two innings to secure the win and Steveston's first gold medal since the club’s inception in 2015.
Head coach Kevin McWilliam, assistant coach and team manager Kevin Lee and assistant coach Denny Irwin were in awe of the performance from their team.
“To play nearly 13 hours consecutive hours of ball in this heat, with no room for error, at the level they played at.. I am speechless,” said McWilliam.
“These women are simply amazing. Not once did they show any fear. The heat did not seem to faze them too much, they focused on one out at a time and were almost perfect. There are a lot of bumps and bruises and strains and aches and heat related fatigue...but no one wanted out of the line-up.
"We have 14 players on our roster and everyone was available this weekend and every one contributed significantly. It would have been impossible to this without all hands on deck.”
The Steveston Athletics Women’s Fastpitch team includes : Brianne Farrall, Brittany Shannon, Bryanna Kochems-Speck, Cassidy Ellis, Chantelle Phillips, Clare Slipiec, Danica Jayme, Karen Bell, Kelly Watt, Kyla McWilliam, Leanne Jung, Lisa Andrijaszyn, Meghan Dewar, Vanessa Fabbro and Rosie.
