Jul 13, 2016 | Ian Mayer | 2963 views
Bitter Sweet Gold Medal for LaSalle Athletics U16 Fastpitch Team
It was a bitter sweet gold medal win this past weekend for the LaSalle Athletics U16 Bantam Team in Stratford Ontario. The U16 Bantam Girls went 3 and 0 in round robin play beating Enniskillen 16 to 1, DKMB Rivercats 9 to 3 and the Springfield Brewers 7 to 3. During the tournament playoffs, LaSalle beat Arthur 3 to 2 and Tavistock 11 to 6. With a record of 5 and 0, LaSalle advanced to the gold medal game against the London Lightning being the only undefeated team in the tournament.
The gold medal game was tight from the opening pitch as both teams hit the ball well, executed bunts when needed and played great defensively. An unfortunate incident occurred during the 4th inning as LaSalle’s Rya Cowan chased down a foul ball over 3rd base. After catching the ball and getting the out, Rya crashed into the fence then fell back onto the diamond and broke her left leg. It was a very emotional time for both teams as Coaches and Parents from LaSalle and London came to aid Rya and comfort her until the Fire Department and Paramedics arrived. Rya’s last request from the Ambulance to her teammates was “just win this game”. After a 30 minute delay, LaSalle was given the option to stop the game or continue. The girls decided to play out the game. It was no easy feat from this point as the girls were very emotional. In the end it took the International tie breaker rule to declare a winner. With 2 outs and LaSalle’s Sam Regnier occupying 3rd Base, 3rd Base Coach Bill Mayville executed a plan. After the first strike was thrown to LaSalle’s Izzy Signorelli, Coach Mayville had Sam Regnier steal home on the throw back to the Pitcher for the 8 to 7 victory.
Although LaSalle won the game on one the most exciting plays in softball, emotions were still very high as the players continued to worry about Rya’s well being. After being presented with their Gold medals the girls quickly exited the ball park and headed to the hospital to check on Rya.
A special thank you goes out to Chris Askew, Head Coach of the London Lightning, his Coaching staff and the London Lightning parents for all their care, compassion and assistance they provided to Rya. At this time this article was submitted, Rya was heading into surgery in London, Ontario. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
Coach Justin