Team Rivers West pictured here following their districts championship win. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Softball Supremacy

Rivers West take gold at U13 district showcase

Aug 22, 2022 | 2:16 PM

The Rivers West U13 softball team are district showcase champions.

The team, comprised of the top players in the age group from surrounding communities, including the Battlefords, Meadow Lake, Wilkie, Unity, and Kindersley, posted a perfect 5-0 record on the weekend on their way to the gold medal as this year’s hosts in Battleford.

North Battleford’s Darren Russell, who shared coaching duties with Meadow Lake’s Davin Hildebrand, said, more than just the win, it was the way the team came together to achieve their shared goal that made the weekend truly special.

“You would not think there were four different communities here from all different teams in the province… you would think these kids went to kindergarten together,” Russell said with a laugh. “They really pulled together and it was just awesome to see and be a part of.”

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Meadow Lake’s Makenna Dufresne also spoke to the natural chemistry within the group from the get-go, talking post-game after their opening win.

“We all had fun in the dugout cheering each other on when batting, the pitchers did really good and everyone just had fun,” Dufresne said.

Buzzing through the round robin to finish first in their pool at 3-0, Rivers West then topped Prairie Central in the semi-finals in a tight contest that went right down to the wire.

Trailing in the top of the seventh inning, the girls showed resiliency to battle back at the bottom of the seventh, capped off with a pair of big plays late.

First, Layla Russell stole home on a passed ball to knot the score, before a key hit by Kenzi Hildebrand scored the winning run in a walk-off to advance to the gold medal game.

“In our semi-finals game when I slid home everyone was just so happy,” Layla Russell recalled to battlefordsNOW, before adding with a laugh, “It was a bit nerve-wracking, but [the tournament] was really fun and I met a lot of new people from new places.”

Unity’s Kira Purcell, who took home ‘Player of the Game’ honours in the gold medal game; a 3-0 victory over Lakeland to clinch the gold, talked about the championship amidst post-game celebrations.

“It feels pretty good, I’ve never won a gold medal before, and especially to do so in Sask softball is pretty cool,” Purcell said with a smile. “I learned a lot going from ‘B’ ball to ‘A’ with all these good players so it’s been pretty awesome.”

Darren Russell said all things considered they couldn’t have asked for a better weekend, both as a team and as hosts.

“The weather was great and we had a lot of people helping in our community,” Russell said. “Heath Beaudry has these diamonds in tip-top shape and we just want to thank everyone who helped out. Everybody that came got a good show of ball and hopefully it reflects on our community how well it was put together.”

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1