REGINA - The Estevan Elite U11 girls softball team didn't play together for very long, but they were the best in Saskatchewan when it mattered the most.
The Estevan Elite U11 team captured the provincial title by defeating Weyburn 9-8 in the final of a tournament held in Regina.
The Elite opened the tournament with an 11-10 loss to Indian Head in what would be their only loss of the tournament. The Elite recovered to defeat White Butte 6-1 and a Regina team 11-2 to finish second in their round-robin pool with a 2-1 record.
In the quarter-finals, Estevan knocked off Gravelbourg 12-7 and Moose Jaw 9-2 to reach the final and face Weyburn.
Weyburn scored five in the second inning to lead 8-2 in the final, but Estevan stormed back with five of their own in frame. Estevan tied it in the third and notched the go-ahead run in the fourth. Kensie Aspinall’s hit scored Lexi Turner for the winning run with two outs.
It was their strongest effort of the year, said coach Brad Zukewich.
Zukewich was impressed the team’s pitching and catching at provincials, and the batters came alive at the tournament. There was a little concern after the way the team started against Indian Head, but the pitching came alive after the opening game.
Estevan had some of the strongest pitching in the tournament, he said, and other teams were having a hard time getting hits.
“We kept getting better on and on,” said Zukewich. “We never really played a lot of games, we just put this team in at the last minute.”
The Elite were comprised of players from the three house league teams in Estevan Girl s Softball. They finalized the roster on the last day before the deadline to enter provincials and it paid off.
“We saw the talent out of the three teams, and I figured we’d have a very good team. It took a while for the kids to gel, but they got to know each other a little better, played a few games, got everybody in the right positions and it was good,” said Zukewich.
They had a great group of kids and parents associated with the team.
