North Shore Fastpitch’s Bantam C Avalanche were named Provincial Silver Medalists the weekend of July 11 – 12 after a epic 13 inning, 3.5 hour Championship game – one of the longest in Softball BC history. The results were all the more amazing when one considered that the team came into the final having just completed four back to back games - 44 innings of consecutive fastpitch!

Having previously earned a bronze in 2006 and gold in 2008, the Avalanche knew that hydration and balanced nutrition were the keys to keeping their minds and bodies fresh, and they were diligent throughout the weekend with both. The Avalanche came out of the round robin in first place, defeating Boundary, Cloverdale, Richmond, and Langley. That put them up against the 8^th place Penticton team in the first game of the playoffs, who they defeated 11 – 2. But Sunday morning had them meet Cloverdale again and, this time, Cloverdale came out the victor in a 7-6 game. That pushed the Avalanche to the loser’s bracket, where they would have to win 3 more games to reach the finals. At 10:00 am, they defeated Parksville (19 -1), followed by Port Moody at noon (15-1) and the same Cloverdale team at 2:00 (18-6). Assured a silver medal, they faced the Fleetwood Outlaws in the 5:00 pm final – the same team they had defeated in 2008 to earn the gold medal.

The Avalanche scored three in the first but the Outlaws battled back to equal the score in the second, where it stayed until the Outlaws scored one in the fifth. With two out in the top of the seventh, Natasha Clayton hit a triple and Katherine Karr drove her home with a single to tie up the game. Samantha Lung and Katrina Schigas both made spectacular running catches in the outfield to send the game to extra innings.

As the word got out, the town of Salmo began to trickle in and soon there was standing room only far down the base lines. Locals called others over to “cheer for the Red team” and soon they were calling the North Shore girls by name. In the eighth, the Avalanche pulled off a double play to keep the Outlaws from scoring, and in the ninth, a long throw from right field got the runner stealing third!

Finally, in the 10^th, the Avalanche scored five runs and Salmo lit up with cheers. But the Outlaws answered back with 5 of their own and they went to the 11^th, 12^th, and 13^th, where a fly ball to center drove in the runner on third. It was now past 8:30 and chucker Maddy Jones had logged an incredible 38 innings on the mound, faced 161 batters, and thrown more than 500 pitches – all in one day.

The people of Salmo stood and applauded their efforts - one local resident ran out onto the field to high five the girls, and the UIC asked to shake the hands of the men who “had coached one of the best games of ball he had ever seen.” “Not only did you play at the very highest level of competition,” he said, “but with the greatest amount of sportsmanship in the tournament.” Softball BC representative, Anne Holmes, added that she had never witnessed a 13 inning ball game before, and that many people at Softball BC had been following the game via text messaging. She mentioned Maddy Jones by name, adding that Maddy had pitched all but 3 innings all day, and the catcher – Gibson’s Sydney Lambert– had logged the same on the other end of the pitch.

The parents of the North Shore Avalanche applaud their daughters and their coaches on an unforgettable weekend!  The Avalanche are coached by Mark Jones, Roland Schigas & Jeff Pasternak.

Submitted by Sandy Karr, Manager.