The 11U LaSalle Athletics Gold (2012- Gee) completed their
season long goal of competing in the PWSA 11U Provincial Championship game,
hosted at Turtle Club this past weekend.
The Athletics went undefeated in pool play, outscoring their
opponents 34-5, earning the second seed overall and a bye to the semifinals.
Nerves and a tough Milton team resulted in a scoreless game going into the
third when the A’s scored two with a walk off homer and two base hits. Milton
was quick to answer, scoring 4 at their next at bats and 2 more runs the
following inning. With the A’s down, it was rally time, quickly scoring 3 to
close the gap. With regulation time closing in and the A’s last raps, a
hard-hit single placed the tying run on first. Capitalizing on stealing opportunities
the A’s found themselves with the tying run on third. A perfectly placed hit
allowed the runner to score, sending the game into not one, but TWO International
tie breaker innings. With a runner on third, a hard-hit home run down third
base line allowed the A’s to score the winning run and advance to the
Championship game.
With only a 20-minute break, the Athletics prepared to face
an even tougher adversary in the Halton Hawks. Coming out strong, the game
remained scoreless until the bottom of the third when Halton cashed 5 runs. The
Athletics answered by scoring 5 at their next at bat. Little by little Halton
advanced their lead, as the Athletics were slowly running out of steam and
ultimately secured silver overall.
Words don’t adequately express how incredibly proud the
coaches are of these girls. Last year this team finished 24th out of
29 teams. Through hard work, determination, and a desire to succeed they
finished second in the province this year! During our winter training this team
committed to making it to the Championship. They signed their names to our
‘Champions’ board that was hung in the dug out every game. Although we didn’t
win Gold, this team played like Champions. They played with Courage, Heart,
positive and confident Attitudes. They stayed Motivated, played with
Perseverance and Integrity. They remained Optimistic, made Necessary plays, and
Supported each other throughout this journey. They played like CHAMPIONS.
A special thank you to the LaSalle Athletics, members of the
LaSalle Titans teams, members of Windsor Wildcats teams, Turtle Club and people
of LaSalle for their amazing support this weekend. An unbelievable number of
supporters spent their weekend cheering on this team. When crowd support was
needed, they answered. The kindness, support and class of the crowd will never
be forgotten.
Thank you to parents, grandparents and family members for
their commitment to this team. Thank you to our generous sponsors for helping
this team achieve their goals: JT’s, Pink Pisces, B3 (Black Bart and Bunky),
Eye Smile Vision and LaSalle Police Association.