The U17 Bandits hit the road to Surrey last night, traveling through the day today to get to their destination for the 2022 Canada Cup. (Submitted photo/Darren Russell)

By Martin Martinson

Batter up!

Bandits set off to Surrey for Canada Cup

Jun 16, 2022 | 3:24 PM

The Battlefords Bandits U17 softball team are BC bound, on their way to Surrey for the 2022 Canada Cup.

Leaving the Battlefords last night on their 15-and-a-half hour trek, the team pulled into Hope, BC., midday for lunch, on their way to the tournament that will run June 17-20.

Maryn Kachmarski is a pitcher and third baseman with the Bandits, currently in her eighth year with the softball program. She said the trip is an experience she and her teammates have had circled on the calendar for some time.

“We were looking forward to it all season, so it’s really exciting it’s coming up right now,” Kachmarski said. “We’ve never really gotten a big opportunity to all travel together to a big city like this before, and seeing other teams from different provinces and even out of the country will be super exciting.”

The Bandits at one of their midday stops along the trip, in Hope, BC. (Submitted photo/Darren Russell)

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The Bandits punched their ticket to the tournament following a season to remember last summer that saw the team post a perfect 21-0 record in U16 play, on their way to a provincial gold medal.

The tournament, which will take place at Team Canada’s national team facility, will feature ball clubs from across the country in one of five tournaments that will be held at the facility over the next two weeks, including at the National level.

For Bandits’ shortstop and outfielder, Ava Beausoleil, the tournament will mark the furthest west she has been of the country. Currently in her seventh year playing with the Bandits, she said she’s looking forward to soaking in the experience.

“Just playing in such a big area with all the different teams that are coming and with how large-scale the tournament is pretty great,” she said.

“I’d like to thank all our sponsors and everybody who helped us get here as we couldn’t have done it without them, and we really feel the support of the community. We’re super excited to play our heart out here and show all these teams what a Saskatchewan team can do.”

The Bandits will play five round-robin games that will determine seeding for the playoff rounds. Their first game will be Friday night against the Victoria Glory at 7 p.m., followed by two games Saturday, against South Surrey at 11 a.m., and Langley at 9:30 p.m.

Sunday the team will play Burnaby at 11:30 a.m., and Fleetwood at 4:30 p.m., with the playoff rounds Monday. The team’s games will be available to live-stream on the Canada Cup website, here.

*Sask. times listed.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1