If not for a tough start and rougher ending, the Moose Jaw Ice might have had a better result in their opening game at the Softball Canada U15 AA fastball championship.
As it stands, the Waterloo Ghosts Gold would put up three runs in the first and four in the sixth on their way to an 8-1 victory over Moose Jaw in their first contest at the tournament in Brandon.
It was a decent start for Moose Jaw, as Blake Maltais hit a lead-off single and immediately scored when Tara Bell hit a double one batter later.
Waterloo -- the second-ranked team out of Ontario -- put up their three runs in the bottom of the inning and that’s where things would stand until the fifth, when the Gold added their fourth run.
The Ice got a runner to third in the second inning and looked to have a second run go up on the board in the sixth, but Taryn Friesen was caught at home after attempting to score from second on a Graclyn Blanchard single.
Waterloo took advantage of an error and some timely hitting in the sixth to put up their four runs and invoke the seven-run-lead mercy rule.
Friesen got the start and allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits and two walks while striking out three in five innings. Kensington Demassi pitched the sixth and surrendered the four unearned runs while giving up a pair of hits.
Natalie Tasker went the distance for Ontario and allowed the single run on six hits while striking out 13 and walking none.
The Ice play two games on Thursday when they take on the third-ranked team out of B.C., the View Royal Venom, at 10 a.m. and the fourth-ranked B.C. team, the Cloverdale Fury, at 4:30 p.m.
Moose Jaw wraps up the round robin Friday with games against Equipe de Quebec and the host Westman Magic.
The playoff round runs all day Saturday, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the championship round, and the third- and fourth-place and fifth- and sixth-place teams dropping to separate consolation draws.
The gold medal game is set for 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
You can follow along with scores from the week by clicking right here.
