By TERRY PUGH
Several area softball teams brought home the hardware after successful performances at provincial championship tournaments July 10-12.
BLUEJAYS WIN GOLD
The Laird Valley Bluejays cruised to a gold medal in the U17 Open Boys provincial championship in Prince Albert.
The team went undefeated in the five-team tournament, winning 7-0 over the Rosebud Royals in their opening game on Friday, followed by a convincing 15-2 drubbing of the Saskatoon Junior Jacks later that same day. The Bluejays downed the Prince Albert Astros 5-3 and the Okanese Thunderstrikers 8-0 on Saturday to punch their ticket to the gold medal game on Sunday.
In the championship final, they doubled the Prince Albert Astros 10-5.
The Astros took silver and the Okanese Thunderstrikers won bronze.
VIKINGS WIN SILVER
The Valley Vikings won the silver medal in the U20 Open Men’s provincial championship July 10-12, also in Prince Albert.
The Vikings lost their opening game 16-1 to the host Prince Albert Astros on Saturday, but rebounded to beat the Astros 4-1 on Sunday to advance to the gold medal final against the Saskatoon Junior Jacks.. The Junior Jacks captured the gold medal by downing the Vikings 10-0 in the final. The Astros won the bronze medal.
VIKINGS WIN BRONZE
The Langham Vikings won the bronze medal in the U13 Open Boys provincial championship in Shell Lake July 10-12.
Despite losing 16-4 to the Dundurn Detonators and 11-0 to the Parkland Wildcats Blue on Friday, and 9-3 to the Parkland Wildcats Green on Saturday morning, the Vikings bounced back Saturday afternoon with an 11-10 victory over the Prince Albert Astros to advance to the semi-finals. The Vikings dropped a 14-1 decision to the Wildcats Blue team, which still allowed them a shot at the bronze medal. In that game, they downed the Wildcats Green 16-10 to win the bronze.
TCA ELITE WIN SILVER
The Twin City Angels (TCA) Elite won the silver medal in the U13B Girls North Provincial Championship in Saskatoon July 10-12.
The tournament saw a total of 19 teams from across the northern part of the province compete for the crown, with a high level of competition in all the games.
The TCA Elite got off to a hot start with a 20-3 win over the Saskatoon Raiders Storm on Friday, followed by a 15-12 victory over the Saskatoon Lasers later that day.
On Saturday, the TCA Elite spanked the Melfort Spirit 8-0, and went on to down the Prince Albert Aces 12-4, earning them a first-place finish in their pool.
In the playoff round on Sunday, the TCA Elite polished off the Saskatoon Phantoms Lightning 14-2, and then edged the Humboldt Thunder 14-13 to punch their ticket to the gold medal match-up, where they lost 11-3 to the Watrous Royals.
The Twin City Angels White Lightning and the Twin City Angels Black both competed in the 13-team U13C Girls North Provincial championship tournament in Macklin July 10-12 but weren’t able to earn spots in the finals.
The Twin City Angels Riot, Twin City Angels Velocity and Delisle Dynamite competed in the U15B Girls North Provincials in Saskatoon July 10-12. In that tournament, the TCA Velocity finished second in their pool, but lost 3-0 to the Saskatoon Lasers in the playoff round.
UPCOMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Two Twin City Angels U17 girls teams are gearing up for their respective provincial championship tournaments July 17-19.
The Twin City Angels and Rosthern Valley Vipers will compete in the 14-team U17B Girls provincials in Swift Current.
The Twin City Angels are entered in the 16-team U17C Girls provincials in Regina.