The Battlefords Bandits U15 softball team, that will compete at Westerns in Richmond, BC. (Submitted photo/Battlefords Minor Softball)

By Martin Martinson

Softball's best

U15 Bandits B.C. bound for Western Canadian Championships

Aug 9, 2023 | 5:20 PM

The Battlefords Bandits U15 softball team are west coast bound, for the Western Canadian Softball Championships, Aug. 10-13 in Richmond B.C.

The Bandits are coming off a dominant season that saw the club post an 8-2 record in league play on their way to the Girls Prairie League Softball (GPLS) finals, before also adding a U15 “AW” silver medal at provincials last month.

The latter also earned their spot at Westerns, a best-on-best tournament featuring top teams in the age group from Saskatchewan, BC., Alberta, and Manitoba.

Centre fielder with the Bandits U15s, Payton Russell is in her third season with the team and said from the early part of the year, the team was confident in their ability to accomplish something special this season.

“I thought we could do something special because we’re a pretty unique team and we’ve had lots of fun playing together,” she said. “We’re all pretty good friends and we have good attitudes and we all just know how to bring people up when they’re down.”

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Bandits’ pitcher and first/third baseman, Ariyana Metlewsky, also spoke to the club’s cohesion as a key to their success throughout the year, adding that they will need a similar mindset to thrive on the biggest stage, yet.

“It was a really big team effort from all of us [to get here] and it’s a really big commitment to come all the way to BC, so it’s really exciting for all of us,” the now second-year U15 Bandit said. “I think we definitely need to stay together as a team and uplift one another if someone’s down, and just bring a lot of teamwork into this weekend.”

Head coach, Chris Metlewsky said the team are feeling confident heading into the tournament, having played some of their best ball at the biggest moments like at provincials.

“We got really good pitching at provincials and that’s kind of what carries your team through and then with the hits the other team did get, our defense stood tall and made some nice plays,” he said. “A real good defensive effort at provincials is what we had.”

Heading into a compact schedule with three games Thursday, another two Friday, and one more Saturday, prior to the start of the playoff rounds, the team also added a pair of players in pitcher, Jaryn Doell from Biggar and catcher, Kira Purcell from Unity to their usual lineup in preparation for a Westerns’ run.

The Bandits’ first of three games to open the tournament Thursday will be at 8 a.m. against the Smitty’s Terminators from Manitoba.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1