During the Softball Sask U15 AA provincial championship final at Optimist Park back on Sunday, July 16, a group of parents were huddled around a table keeping tabs on something that was happening on a smartphone.
That ‘something’ was the Gamechanger livestream of the U13 AA championship final up in Saskatoon, as the Moose Jaw Ice took on the Regina Fighting Saints for provincial gold.
The game was tied 10-10 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and the Ice at bat, but something strange had happened -- the app appeared to have froze for several minutes with runners on second and third and Riley Ziffle at the plate.
Moments later, the reason for that hang was revealed: Ziffle had hit a walk-off, game-winning double, and with that, the Moose Jaw Ice were the 2023 Softball Sask U13 AA provincial champions.
Shortly after, an announcement over the public address system drew a hearty cheer from the hundreds of fans in attendance.
“It was really good, the girls came out on Sunday like they really wanted to win that championship,” said Ice coach Marie Wright. “We have six on the team where this was their third year trying, so they were pretty excited. All the girls came out and played hard and were great.”
Things had gone well for Moose Jaw through the round robin, but they weren’t perfect -- the Ice defeated the Saskatoon Raiders 15-2, Lumsden Cubs 12-1 and Prince Albert Aces 6-1, but had dropped a 13-9 decision to one of their nemesis in the Regina Lazers.
Their 3-1 mark was still more than enough to advance the Ice to the quarter-finals, where they opened with a 10-2 win over the Saskatoon Hustlers. That set up a semifinal rematch with the Lazers, and this time things were much different: a four-run fourth inning and five more runs in the sixth gave Moose Jaw a 9-3 win.
“We lost the game in the round robin to the Lazers and came back and beat them in the semifinal, so that was a really nice comeback for us,” Wright said. “They played well all weekend, they got on their bats and their defence was great, especially in that semifinal and final.”
Callie Bell was 2-for-3 with a run scored and four runs batted in to lead the Ice offence, while Aspen Olafson was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI. Ziffle also had a pair of hits and scored two runs.
Chloe Strueby got the semifinal start and allowed two runs on two hits over four innings, striking out six. Ziffle finished things off, allowing a run on three hits and striking out four over the final two innings.
That sent the Ice to the gold medal game and all the drama that unfolded.
Moose Jaw scored a pair of runs in each of the first two innings and three more in the third to lead 7-4 through three innings, and they extended their edge to 9-4 with a pair of runs in the fourth.
The Saints battled back with two runs in the fifth, another three in the sixth and after Moose Jaw put up one in the fifth. tied the game in the top of the seventh, setting up the walk-off win.
Emmy Blanchard and Kinley Gottselig hit back-to-back singles to lead off the final inning, a sacrifice bunt by Taya Babich moved them into scoring position, and two batters later, Ziffle doubled to right field to give Moose Jaw the title.
Bell and Gottselig each had 3-for-3 games and knocked in three runs, while Blanchard was 2-for-2 and scored three times. Olafson scored a pair of runs and had an RBI, while Ziffle had a pair of hits and scored a pair of runs to go along with her two RBI.
Strueby allowed five runs -- none earned -- on three hits over four innings, striking out eight in the process, before Ziffle finished things off, allowing five runs on five hits and five walks over the last three innings.
All in all, Wright pointed to the team receiving contributions from throughout the line-up as their major key to the win.
“Some of the girls who had been struggling with the bats had them come alive, so you get the bottom of the order batting in four runs in a game, that really helps the offence find a way to win,” Wright said. “And we always have good pitching, so when we can put more runs up that always makes a difference.”
With the provincial title, the season comes to an end for the U13 AA Ice. But there’s plenty of optimism for the future and what this group might be able to accomplish.
“Next year, hopefully this same team has just as good a year and they get to go to nationals,” Wright said. “That would be pretty amazing.”
