The Battlefords Bandits U13 (top) and U15 (bottom) softball teams each took home hardware over the weekend in Lloydminster. (submitted photos/BMSA)

By Martin Martinson

Softball excellence

Bandits take gold/silver at Battle at the Border

Jun 12, 2023 | 4:20 PM

The Battlefords Bandits softball program left its mark in Lloydminster over the weekend, coming out swinging to a pair of medals at the U13 and U15 level at the inaugural Battle at the Border tournament, June 9-11.

U13 Bandits

The U13 Bandits took home the gold competing in the U13B division, opening their tournament with a Friday victory over the Beaumont Blitz.

Facing a bit of adversity with a 12-6 loss to the host Lloyd Liners B team Saturday morning, the Bandits were quick to bounce back as the defeat served as the lone blemish on their weekend record. From there, the Bandits edged the Red Deer Rage 13-12 that afternoon, to advance to the playoff rounds at 2-1 through round robin play.

The Battlefords Bandits U13B gold medalist team. (submitted photo/BMSA)

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Getting another shot at the Lloyd Liners in the quarter-finals, the Bandits avenged their earlier loss with a 13-9 victory, followed by a convincing 10-3 win over Maidstone in the semis, and 8-4 decision over Red Deer again, to clinch the tournament gold.

Head coach of the U13s, Ryan Shepherd said as a young team heading into the season with just three or four returning players, the weekend’s success comes as a culmination of the group’s ability to continually raise their game and improve as the season has gone along.

“We started the season with a real development aspect in mind, and there was a lot of learning at the start of the year, but we explained to the girls we were heading on a learning path and just kept getting better and better every game which seemed to kind of come to a head this weekend,” Shepherd said.

“A lot of the young girls starting out in their first year of U13 really improved in the last month of ball, and really stood out in this tournament with a couple of key clutch hits at the end of games that really put us ahead.”

The U13s will now play another couple of exhibition games to stay sharp, ahead of the Girls Prairie League Softball Final in Unity, June 23-25. Provincials will follow to wrap the season, July 14-16.

U15 Bandits

The U15 Bandits took home a U15B silver medal for their efforts, winning four of their five games total over the weekend, en route to the runner-up finish.

The U15s opened their tournament with an 8-6 win over the Edmonton Warriors, then topping one of the Twin City Angels teams 10-9 in their second game, and the second Angels’ team 8-3 in their final matchup of round robin play.

The Battlefords Bandits U15B silver medalist team. (submitted photo/BMSA)

Undefeated through the round robin, the Bandits entered the playoff rounds as the top seed overall in their division, topping the Lloydminster Liners 3-2 in the semis in dramatic fashion.

A tie game into the final innings, the Bandits’ girls scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh on an overthrow that allowed the team to steal home with the winning run to punch their ticket to the final.

While the Bandits’ girls may have fallen in the final to the Stettler Storm, assistant coach, Kevin Russell said the team showed good heart on their run to the silver medal.

“We’ve got a really good up-and-coming team,” Russell said. “The key to our team’s success is our pitching [as] we’ve got three really good pitchers and our defence and our pitching was really strong on the weekend, with some timely hitting too when we needed it. All in all, it was a great effort by all the U15 players involved, it was a huge team effort.”

Next up for the U15 Bandits will be their own trip to the Girls Prairie League Softball Final in Unity. Sitting second overall at 8-2 in league play, the Bandits girls will then have time to prepare ahead of provincials in Regina July 14 weekend.

U17 Bandits

Also in action at the Battle at the Border tournament were the U17 Bandits, who moved up to compete in the “A” Division of their age group. The U17s advanced to the semi-finals, where they pushed the eventual champions from Lloyd to three extra-innings.

Lloyd went on to beat the Saskatoon Lazers AA team to win the U17A division.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1