The host Kelowna Heat opened the tournament strong, before falling a step short of the medals at the Spring Sizzle U14 girls fastball tournament at High Noon Park.
In the third-place final Sunday, Kelowna dropped a 6-3 decision to the South Delta Invaders to finish up in fourth spot.
The Heat started off the weekends well with three wins and a tie in round robin.
Gracie Barbour picked up the first win in a 12-0 decision over the Cloverdale Fury helping her own cause by scoring two runs. Niah La Roy and Emily Elsom were both perfect at the plate. Heat were the Richmond Islanders who came all the way back from a 6-0 deficit and scored three in the bottom of the sixth to snatch a 7-7 tie. Racquel Bennett and Taylor Callow led the way offensively each going 2-for-2.
The Heat then defeated the Ridge Meadows Rage 12-1. Emma Caron and Niah La Roy shared pitching duties combining for a one-hitter, with Haley Martin and Carleigh Maniago each driving in two tuns.
The last round robin game saw Kelowna make short work of the Coquitlam Classics 11-3. Brooke Lambert picked up the win, with Dallas MacMillan leading the way offensively going 3-for-3.
The first playoff game of the day saw the Heat go down quickly 5-0 to the Langley Extreme before recovering for a lopsided 14-6 win. Pick-up player from Castlegar, Alex Sherstobitoff, scored two runs with Julia Paulson scoring once.
In the semifinal, against the undefeated Nanaimo Diamonds, one inning was the Heat’s undoing as they gave up all five runs in a 5-3 loss.
The bronze medal game saw the girls come out flat, losing to a strong South Delta Invaders team. Racquel Bennett caught a strong game as she did all weekend and in drove in two runs in a losing cause.
Next up for the girls is a road trip to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho for The Crush Invitational before returning home to prepare for the provincials in North Delta.
In the gold medal game, Nanaimo defeating Coquitlam Classics 8-6.
