NORTH RIVER – An Eastern Canadian softball championship was worth the wait for Brittany George.
“I think so,” the 17-year-old Onslow Mountain resident beamed. “We all wanted this more than anything.”
George was talking about the North River Inglis Jewellers Diamond Gators’ 2-1 victory over the Saint John Selects in eight innings, giving the Nova Scotia representatives the 2010 Eastern Canadian Midget Girls Fastball Championship crown at the Leo Blair Memorial Fields in North River. It was the first time a Nova Scotian team won the title.
“It doesn’t even feel real,” said Truro’s Kelsey Shipley, also 17.
The team plowed through the competition, which started Friday, with a 6-0 record and had never finished better than fourth at any level. So what better place to finally win than at home?
“We’ve been playing here since we were six,” Shipley said. “To win here is just phenomenal.”
The Gators clinched the title in the bottom of the eighth when, with the bases loaded, Saint John pitcher Sam DeBortoli walked in the winning run.
The pitcher was devastated afterward, but the North River bench and fans erupted when the pitch clearly sailed outside the strike zone.
“It feels great,” said Gators second baseman and tournament MVP Paige MacDonald, of Antigonish. “It’s my first Eastern Canadian so to get gold is awesome.”
The Gators opened the event with a 2-1 win over Saint John before pounding West Royalty 12-0. North River then downed the Rive-Sud All-Stars from Quebec 3-1 and nipped the Napanee Express 2-1.
The Gators earned a bye into the final with a 2-0 win over the Port Perry Angels in a crossover game Saturday. Both teams were undefeated at the time until North River’s Holly Denny struck out 15 hitters to lead the Gators to the win.
“The girls definitely deserve it,” said coach John Shipley. “They came to play. We’ve struggled at times this season, but this weekend everything came together.”
And so did the players. With the roster coming from all parts of the province, chemistry took time to build.
“But everyone just came together this weekend,” George said. “Everyone wanted to win so bad and we got what we wanted.”
sports@trurodaily.com
I agree with the comment, it is not the first for Nova Scotia. Very interesting how one player "pitcher" can take a team that did not win one game at Nationals or even score a run for that matter to winning at an Easterns. Clearly it was the work of one player. Go Holly !!!