Portager Czarina Castellano and the U14 Smitty's Terminators returned with silver medals in hand from the National Fastpitch Championship in Brampton, Ontario.

The girls went 6-1 in the qualifying round with victories coming over PEI, Lasalle, Delta BC, Breslau, Ontario, and Brampton and their loss came against Saskatoon. The Terminators won their first elimination game against Saskatoon 10-2, then beat host Brampton to advance to the gold medal match. Unfortunately, they lost an exciting 1-0 game to Surrey BC.

"When I first got out there things were really nerve-wracking," says Castellano. "Once that first game was over I started to settle down a lot and had so much fun. That final game against Surrey was definitely our most competitive game. We lost 1-0 and it could've gone either way."

Czarina Castellano making a snag in the outfield at Nationals. (Submitted Photo)

The girls that make up the Smitty's mostly come from Winnipeg with the exception of Castellano and one other player from Steinbach.

I started off not knowing many people, just the ones I knew from last year, but I made friends with everyone really quick at the start of the year," says Castellano. "I decided to try out for the Terminators and I made the team so I decided to stick with it. A lot of people say you lose to get silver, but I think we won because it's a huge accomplishment to just get to a national tournament."

She's looking forward to rejoining the team next season and taking on more of a leadership role.

Back row: Lexi Nelson (Carman), Brooklyn McDonald (Mather), Payton Doerksen (Sperling), Zoey Pearce (Manitou), Kyra Penner (Altona), Jolyne Leclair (Notre Dame des Lourdes), Kylyn Shindle (Portage la Prairie) Front row: Quinn Mclaren (Roland), Mackenzie Couling (Pilot Mound), Abbi Conrad (Swan Lake), Olivia Goderis (Swan Lake), Alexa Guilford (Crystal City). (submitted photo)

The Central Energy U14 team was also at the National Championship in Brampton. They had a really successful season that included a silver medal at the Queen City Classic in Regina and bronze medals at the International Classic in Winnipeg and Red River Rage in Fargo. Kylyn Shindle was the only Portage player on the team.