Bandits softball kicks off provincials this weekend

“Our last tournament I’d say the standout was our hitting, it was a slugfest,” coach, Regan Lavallee said. “We batted everybody in that tournament and right 1-to-11 everybody was batting really well, and throughout the season our batting has been really good. It’s a great group of girls who just love to play ball and we can rely on any player to go in at any time.”

The U19s are guaranteed at least three games this weekend, ahead of the start of the playoffs. The team’s first game will be Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Tisdale.

U11 Bandits

The Bandits U11 softball teams will host provincials this weekend, at Diamonds 1, 2, and 3 at the Battlefords Flats.

The two U11 provincial teams will be coached by Ashton Mackrell and Carmen McTaggart. The teams are comprised of a mix of players from each of the four local U11 teams that played against one another this year.

Mackrell said her team is looking forward to what will be – in many cases – their first ball tournament.

“It’s very exciting because lots of our girls are first-year or second-year players and this is the first big tournament they’ve had,” she said. “It’s just all the more exciting being home, and some of them have never played in a tournament before.”

Since being put together at the end of the ball season, Mackrell’s U11s have won a pair of exhibition games in preparation for provincials, with the added benefit of having played with many of their new teammates in recent years.

“With two North Battleford teams, lots of them have played together either in-house or last year and I think it’s just supporting each other and continuing to grow that love of the game,” she said of the key for this weekend. “If they can continue to do that they will be successful and hopefully keep playing for years to come.”

McTaggart, whose team is also rolling into play, having won a pair of tee-up games ahead of the weekend’s tournament, added that any time the tournament is on the home diamond it makes for a great opportunity for the kids and community.

“It’s exciting and it’s good for the Battlefords to get the exposer from the rest of the province’s teams to show what we can offer and show them what the Battlefords is all about,” he said.

The local U11 tournament will feature 18 teams from across the region.

Softball provincials will continue next weekend as well, when the U13, U15, and U17 Bandits teams compete around the province, with the second U15 Bandits team in action the weekend after that.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1

by Martin Martinson

Bandits softball kicks off provincials this weekend

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