Ontario champion Waterloo Ghosts finally cooled off the 2001 Delta Heat at the U19 Canadian Girls Fastpitch Championships at Softball City in South Surrey.
In a battle of 6-0-0 teams, the Ghosts defeated Delta 8-1 on Thursday afternoon — capitalizing on a couple of defensive miscues to break the game wide open.
The result left Waterloo and Ontario rival Oakville as the only unbeaten entries in the 24-team tournament that heads into playoff action on Friday. Delta, ’99 White Rock Renegades and the Windsor Wildcats all stand at 6-1-0.
It’s been an impressive run for a Heat team that has stepped up to the U19 level this season after capturing the U16 national championship a year ago.
The girls opened play with a 14-4 romp of Alberta’s Lloydminster Liners on Monday morning, then took care of Saskatchewan’s Estevan South Side Slammers that night.
On Tuesday, the Heat took a pair of games from Fraser Valley Fusion teams — defeating Fusion ’01 5-4 in the morning, then rolling to an 8-1 triumph over the 2000 team.
Wednesday’s results included a 10-4 win over the Edmonton Warriors and a 14-2 romp against the Manitoba Thunder.
The championships conclude on Sunday with the gold medal game at 2:30 p.m.
Earlier, Delta secured its trip to nationals by earning bronze at Softball B.C.’s U19 Provincial Championships in Victoria.
Extra bases…
It’s also been a memorable post-season run for the 2000 Richmond Islanders who happen to feature four girls from South Delta in their line-up — Caitlin Redmond, Nicole Salas, Jenny Campbell and Brooke Stoilen.
The Islanders finished second at the provincial championships and went 2-5 in round-robin play at nationals.
