The Moose Jaw U17 AA Ice fastball team returned home recently from the 2023 Canadian Fast Pitch Championships in Saskatoon. Despite an impressive showing and strong support from the crowd, the team fell short to the BC1 Surrey Storm and saw and end to both their national tournament and their season.
With a final score of 8-1 in favour of BC1 Surrey Storm, the U17 AA Ice were defeated but still held their heads high, knowing their hard work this season got them all the way to nationals.
Despite their loss, head coach Paul Litzenberger said that both he and the team were proud to have made it this far in their season. “It was everything we could have hoped for,” he said, noting that “I couldn’t be prouder of them. It was amazing.”
The Moose Jaw team played an impressive game and tied for fifth place out of 24 total national teams.
Earlier, the U17 AA Ice finished their round-robin with a 3-3 record and earned themselves second place in their pool, which allowed them to move to national championships.
Litzenberger said everything was hard-earned and nothing was taken for granted. “The girls stepped up every day, and I kept telling them not to take this for granted,” he said. “They took advantage of every situation… it was amazing.”
The U17 AA Ice played five games in just over 30 hours at nationals, with only one delay on Friday, Aug. 10 due to a rainstorm.
The team’s loss came on a very close margin. In seven games, four were decided by a single run, and one game saw a two-run difference.
After the game, the girls held their heads high and support was phenomenal. Last year’s game was hosted in Quebec, and the team had to take a six-hour flight to get there but with this year’s game being held in Saskatoon, more fans and family were able to attend for support. “Just hearing from people afterward on Game Changer, and… fans, family, and friends there cheering us on made a difference,” Litzenberger said.
For many girls on the team this was their second straight national tournament. This helped a lot of the second-year players gain greater confidence on the field.
“They knew a little more of what to expect and knew the calibre of teams that were going to be there,” explained Litzenberger.
The girls also competed on the Joe Gallagher Field in Saskatoon several times before and felt a sense of comfortable familiarity with the venue. Litzenberger said that’s the same field they won provincials on. “We said this is our home field, and everything we do is coming onto this field right now.”
Moose Jaw was well represented at nationals this year, as the U15 AA Ice were also playing in Brandon, Man. The U15 AA Ice earned a top-15 finish in their division.
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