South Delta Invaders saved their best fastball for the playoffs, capturing the gold medal at the 2018 Canada Cup women’s fastpitch tournament in Surrey last weekend.
During four days of competition, the Invaders played nine games in the U19B Futures Select division.
They went 3-2 in round robin to place eighth out of 22 teams.
In their first knock-out playoff game, South Delta beat View Royal 6-3. That set up a quarter-final game against top seed Parskville Rage, who were undefeated.
The Invaders took an early lead, scoring five runs in the second inning en route to a 7-3 win.
In the semi-final, the Invaders faced the number four seed Fleetwood Force, who proved to be no match as the Invaders mercied them 10-0 in four innings.
That set the stage for a tough final against Richmond Islanders.
The game started with catcher Rachel Schultz hitting a line drive to centre field on the first pitch. Mekaya Colina doubled a 2-0 count scoring two runs.
South Delta scored four more runs in the third inning, getting RBIs from Kali Matei, Dannica Desgroseilliers, Abby Foster and Shaelyn Claybo. Claybo and Desgroseilliers each pitched half the game, keeping the Islanders from mounting a comeback.
Colina led the team at shortstop defensively and had three hits and two RBIs in the 7-3 win.
The Canada Cup is one of the largest fastpitch tournaments in the world, which this year drew 91 teams from the U.S., China, Japan, Philippines, New Zealand and across Canada.
Team Canada defeated Colorado 3-1 to win their first Canada Cup title since 1996.
The winning Invaders team included: coaches Lance Claybo and Peter Hibrant; and players Brooklyn Mosher, Dannica Desgroseilliers, Shaelyn Claybo, Rachel Schultz, Kennedy Tyndall, Abby Foster, Emma Miller, Kali Matei, Jenaya Basi, Mekaya Colina, Erin Monastersky, Callie Wolsey, Stephanie Jope and bat girl Rachael Silvestrone.
