Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Dominant pitching and a timely grand slam powered the Napanee U19 Express girls to a sweep this weekend, locking up the province’s top seed ahead of the Eastern Canadians.
After claiming the top seed in the Ontario East division, the Express travelled to Cambridge to take on the top team from the West in Tavistock this weekend for a best-of-five.
Megan Morrow got the start for the Express and protected a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning. That’s when Napanee put the game out of reach with an eight run inning, capped by a grand slam off the bat of Nikki Weese.
Just a half hour after the first game the two teams were back at it for Game 2. Payton Barkley got the start and picked up right where the Express had left off, putting up zeros from the pitcher’s circle. Maddy Cronkwright launched a home run to pace the offense in a 7-0 Napanee victory. That win clinched Napanee as the top seed in the province ahead of the Eastern Canadians. The two teams would play one more on Saturday just for fun, with Napanee holding on for a 3-2 win.
The Express ladies will now turn their attention to the 2021 U19 Women’s Eastern Canadians, which will be held Aug. 26-29 in Charlottetown, PEI.
The team has picked up Rachel Foster to strengthen their roster, bringing the total number of players to 13. Six players on the team return from the 2019 club that clinched a national title.