Angels take territorial title
Long-time champions the Benchwarmers meet their match
Meagan Leonard
Northern News Services
Thursday, July 9, 2015
INUVIK
In a nail-biting final game, Inuvik's Amirco Angels knocked out three-time champions the Benchwarmers to conclude the women's slo-pitch territorial tournament.
Davina Mcleod prepares for a pitch as her team Rebecca's Rowdy Roses takes on the Gwitchimo's during a semi-final game on July 5. - Meagan Leonard/NNSL photo
|
The three-day event brought teams from across the region for a chance at the title. Cool temperatures and intermittent rain did not stop die-hard fans from coming out to show their support as they packed the stands for most of the weekend.
Angels coach Jeff Amos said by the time the finals rolled around on July 5 the race to the top was still wide open - it was anybody's game.
"It could have been any of the top three teams, they were fairly close," he told the Inuvik Drum.
Rebecca's Rowdy Roses put up a strong fight but were eventually eliminated, leaving Inuvik's two teams, the Benchwarmers and Amirco Angels, left to duel it out.
That final game pushed both teams to the limit and Amos said for awhile it looked as though the Benchwarmers would take it. But in a surprise last couple of innings, the Angels gave it their all and came out on top, sweeping the game with a 13-9 final score.
"It was just going back and forth - the score was 9-8 at one time," said Amos. "Then we just got some hot bats in the last two innings to give us the lead and we hung on. It was intense right to the last bat."
Despite the intense competition, ultimately everyone was just out to have a good time, said Amos. Even in those final games, girls were cheering good plays made by the other team.
"There was a lot of good camaraderie. At one point one the Benchwarmers' pitcher got a home run in the third inning and everyone was happy for her," he said. "Not just the Benchwarmers but our team was high-fiving her and gave her a big hug at home plate. It's just camaraderie and friendship."
Amos said he was really happy to see all the small communities from around the region represented. Since the competition has continued to grow over the last few years, he says organizers are now thinking of expanding it.
"We're kind of encouraging more players, more teams to come out," he said. "We'd like to see next year's territorials expand (to include) younger teams for next year - have their own separate pools within the tournament."
Although the weekend's fun is now over, Amos said it was just a warm-up that the ladies aren't done with ball just yet this summer.
"Most of our Angels and some of the Benchwarmers are going to Whitehorse for the annual Dustball tournament, so we're all heading down on Wednesday to get set up," he said.
