Bandits softball program off to home run start to season

“It was a great weekend overall, and it was really a full team effort,” Lavallee said. “We were missing one pitcher so we got it done with two pitchers, and there was a torrential downpour Saturday night that delayed things a bit Sunday, but they cleaned up the diamonds so we were able to play. Yesterday was a beautiful day for ball and the girls played great.”

The U19 Bandits pictured here with their gold medals from the weekend. (Submitted photo/Battlefords Bandits)

The U19s went a perfect 4-0 on the weekend, kicking off the tournament with an 11-4 win over the Tisdale Riverdogs, before also topping their area rivals from Unity 11-5 to advance to the semi-finals.

In the semis, the Bandits girls topped the host Regina Riot 8-1, before again besting Unity 7-4 in the finals to claim the gold.

Among the highlights on the weekend was an over-the-fence home run by Kalyna Bahler against Unity in the second game, and a dominant pitching performance by Kiana McNinch in the finals, that saw her pitch a shutout into the final inning of play to lead the team to victory.

Lavallee said it’s been great to see the team hit the ground running, firing on all cylinders.

“Our team is a really good hitting team, we’ve hit the ball hard, and then we’ve had some really dominant pitching too,” she said. “The girls played some great defence and we even saw some double plays, so it was a little bit of everything, and each player has really stepped up and done their part.”

The U19 girls will now get a weekend off, before returning to action June 9-11 in Saskatoon.

U17 Bandits

In their first year of Girls Prairie League Softball play, the U17 Bandits have also come flying out of the gates this season.

Coming off a 4-1 start to their schedule last weekend in Sherwood Park, Alta., the U17s continued their dominance with a perfect 5-0 showing in Irma, Alta., over the weekend.

The U17 Bandits are a dominant 9-1 through their first two weekends of season play in the GPLS, heading into the championship weekend at the end of June. (submitted photo/Darren Russell)

The Bandits girls opened their weekend with a 12-3 win over the Central Alberta Impact, then adding an 18-13 victory over the host Irma Tigers. Following back-to-back wins over the Crossfield Revolution 15-0 and 17-4, the Battlefords then capped their weekend with a 15-2 decision over the Coronation Stealers.

Head coach Darren Russell said it’s been great to see the bats rolling early, as the team continue to build on their success and grow as a team.

“We had a really, really good weekend on the bats, and we’re really deep this year,” Russell said. “We have four pitchers going and [the team] are starting to come together as a team really well and they play hard; they’re taking their turns on the bench and they’re really starting to pound the ball.”

The U17s will also get a weekend off, before returning to tournament play June 9-11 in Lloydminster. The team will wrap up their GPLS season with championship weekend June 24 in Unity.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1

by Martin Martinson

Bandits softball program off to home run start to season

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