INUVIK
Their third consecutive NWT Women's Slo-pitch Championship came the hard way for the Inuvik Benchwarmers.

The three-time champion Inuvik Benchwarmers team won its third straight NWT Women's Slo-pitch Championships July 13 with a 30-2 thrashing of the Pitches Be Crazy team. Showing they are number one, in the back row from left, are Justin Simms, Lisa Burns, Courtney Larocque, Terra McNabb, Chelsea Larocque, Chloe Larocque, Stacey Christie, Jenn Kalinek, Natasha Kulikowski, Nichole McDonald and Jeremy Burns. In the front row, from left, are Wilma Hendrick, Rebecca Kaglik, bat girl Adrianna Hendrick, Sophie Stefure and Shandie Tanner. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

The Benchwarmers rallied from losses during the first two days of the tournament that began July 11 to take out the Pitches Be Crazy team in a wild 30-2 drubbing in the final game.

"It wasn't looking good for us to start with," said team captain Stacey Christie. "I was worried at the beginning of the weekend, thinking maybe (the team's) time is done.

"We played the two strongest teams right off the bat, and they put us in our place."

The team lost a close game to the Amirco Angels on the Friday evening before being trounced by the NWT Power Corporation team to start Saturday.

The team followed that up with a breakout win in its third game, and steamrolled from there.

"We won a game," Christie said wryly Saturday afternoon after the win.

The Angels and Power Corporation team were juggernauts during the first two days of the tournament before falling to the teams they had been crushing Sunday.

They had combined for the game of the tournament Saturday night, with the Power Corporation prevailing by two runs.

Alayna Wolki of the Power Corporation team, which had gone undefeated until Sunday, said her team fell apart in its last game, and made many errors.

"It's disappointing," she said.

The level of play was as high as anything you'll see in the NWT, Christie said. Clearly, the other teams were trying to knock off the Benchwarmers and nearly succeeded.

"We were absolutely the target," said team coach Justin Simms.

"There were people who wanted to beat us," added Christie. "The other teams brought in strong players and it showed.

"We knew the competition was going to be tough out there," she said. "It took us a little while to get going, but last night and this morning, we had good games and we finally got on the sticks.

"The level of competition is amazing. Every year, the level of ladies ball is getting that much stronger. Next year, it's going to be that much harder."

"And there will be more teams, I guarantee that," Christie said.

Six teams took part in the tournament, with a few players from Yellowknife flying in, along with a team from Norman Wells.

"It feels like the first championship," said Simms. "Everybody pulled together, and it was all very positive the whole time. It was an awesome team."

The win means Inuvik will host the territorial championships once again next year. The Benchwarmers have also earned a spot at the 2015 national championships in Niagara Falls, Ont., as did the Pitches Be Crazy team.

Next up for the Benchwarmers is a trip to the national championships in Moncton, N.B., later this month.