The Napanee Doyle’s Windows Bantam Girls Express stunned the home crowd in Montreal this weekend, taking home gold at Quebec Rebels’ U14 International.
Facing off against 14 teams from across Ontario, Quebec and U.S., the Express went 8-1 on the weekend to take home the top spot.
They sealed their gold medal with a 5-2 win over their Ontario rivals in the Halton Hills Hawks. Megan Morrow picked up the win, pitching in her third straight game. Amber Weese led the way both with the glove and the bat, turning in several key defensive plays while notching a pair of hits.
In the semifinals, they routed the host team in front of a boisterous crowd by a score of 8-1. Morrow was named the player of the game.
Their medal hopes were nearly dashed in the quarter-finals when they fell behind 3-0 early to the Tavistock Athletics. They quickly responded in their half of the inning, however, tying the game and then busting it open when Emily Proderick launched a home run over the fence, the first of the season for the team.
The Express began the playoff round with a convincing 12-2 victory over the Vaughan Vikings, with pickup pitcher Natalia Devereaux earning the win while at the plate Weese had a pair of doubles and a triple.
Napanee went 4-1 in pool play, defeating the New York State based Brewster Rockets 8-1 in five innings to open the tournament. Gracie Hearns had three hits and also went the distance on the mound, striking out eight Rockets.
They followed that with an 8-2 victory over the Cole Harbour Comets.
New York’s Amherst Lightning handed the Express their lone loss of the weekend, walking all over them in a 12-2 defeat. They didn’t stay down for long, rallying back with a 5-1 win over the Hockomock Rocks, which play out of a suburb near Boston. Maddie Cronkwright had a big triple to help sway the game in Napanee’s favour.
They closed out pool play with a 7-2 win over the New England Legacy. Chi Suzuki and Maddie Wheeler made big contributions at the plate while Devereaux picked up the win.
Following their gold medal win, the Express will hope to keep up their winning ways this weekend as they head to Syracuse, NY.
“The girls will be up to two years older than us,” Express head coach Scott Morrow said of the competition. “It’s a plan to get us ready for the following weekend when we go to Stratford for the provincials to finish up the season.”
This summer has already been a successful one for the bantams, who have gone 30-9 overall, playing in a Belleville league and the midget division of a North York-based league. They’re forced to travel as they have no local competition. They also have a tournament bronze and consolation championship to go with their international gold medal.