Energy looking to become back-to-back Provincial Champions

The U19 AAA Softball Provincial Championship Weekend begins today in Portage. The Central Energy, Westman Magic, Smitty's Terminators, and Eastman Phillies will participate in a two-day round-robin before the elimination round on Sunday. 

The Central Energy finished the regular season in second-place with a 10-6 record and are feeling confident after picking up two wins in their final doubleheader on Tuesday. Assistant coach Graham Shindle says the girls battled adversity in the second game, which he thinks will bode well.

"We actually fell behind 11-4 after two innings and had to rally to win the game 14-13," Shindle explains. "Over the years, we've had some stretches where we've played a lot of blowout games in a row. When we reflect on those experiences, they don't really prepare you for big-time games where you're trying to win a 5-4 or 4-3 kind of game. We expect having to come back, which we had to do a couple of times in the last few weeks, will be a big benefit down the road."

Shindle says the Energy will have a busy schedule this weekend, with back-to-back games tonight beginning at 5 p.m.

"Saturday, we're back out at Republic Park in Portage, and the Energy will play at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday, there will be a second versus third playoff game at 10 a.m. The winner will play the first-place round-robin team in the final at noon."

Last year, the Energy took home the provincial championship and punched their ticket to nationals after a hard-fought final game against Smitty's. The Terminators ended the season with just one loss; however, it came against the Energy. Shindle knows they'll be able to do that again if the girls bring their A-game.

"It's always important at these tournaments that everyone stays calm, composed, and relaxed. You don't want to squeeze the bat too hard. You don't want to put too much emphasis on any one individual pitch or play. Ted Lasso says, 'You got to have a memory like a goldfish.' That's very important. During a weekend full of intense games, you're going to have some real ups and downs. Keeping an even keel and believing in your teammates is usually enough to give your team a chance. After that, you just cross your fingers that you get a bit of luck to get you over the edge."

The winner of the tournament will play for the Canadian Fast Pitch Championship in Langford, British Columbia. The second and third-placed teams will head off to the Western Canadian Championships in Regina.