INUVIK
Players on the Inuvik Benchwarmers slo-pitch team are hoping they aren't going to be deviled by some angels in the outfield as they get set to defend their territorial title.

Stacey Christie, the team captain of the territorial champion Inuvik Benchwarmers, said the team will be in a struggle to keep its title this season. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

The reining two-time champions will host the Women's Slo-pitch Territorial Championships beginning July 11. With its lineup mostly intact, the team is keeping a wary eye trained close to home as another Inuvik team, the Amirco Angels, could be their toughest competition.

"They're a tough team," said team captain Stacey Christie.

The Angels recently took the women's title at the Inuvik Slo-pitch Association's Men's and Women's Tournament, blowing past a short-handed Benchwarmers team to do so.

The Benchwarmers didn't make it to the finals in that tournament, with four regular players not available, including its two pitchers.

Wilma Hendrick and Christie said it's a difficult task for any team to win under those circumstances, but they didn't downplay the skill of the Angels.

Still, it showed the competition is getting serious for the team that has dominated the women's scene for the last two years.

In 2013, the Benchwarmers didn't lose a game in the territorial matchups. Their toughest competition came in the form of an exhibition game where they nearly lost to a veteran squad of Inuvik players.

They're heading to Moncton, N.B., after the territorials to participate in the national championships, so it will be a busy month or so for them.

The Benchwarmers are expecting to have a full lineup, or close to it, for the territorials and nationals. Christie said one player will meet them en route to the nationals, and that will complete the lineup.

The only player missing from the lineup is Tina Busetto, who played with the team regularly during last year's territorial championships.

Other than that, the team's lineup has been remarkably consistent over its three-year duration.

Similar to what happened in 2013, the territorials are likely to be filled with teams from the Beaufort-Delta region.

Christie said the team has been informed that no teams from further south in the NWT will be packing their bags and heading to Inuvik for the tournament once again this year.

In 2013, only four teams entered the tournament, and all were based in Inuvik.

"There's no one coming from the Sahtu, and we hear the Yellowknife team isn't coming either," Christie said.

That's mostly due to travel costs, Christie said. While teams from the Delta region are used to the exorbitant cost of travelling in and out of Inuvik for tournaments, southern-based teams are not. She said they likely find the cost shocking.

"We're used to fundraising to help pay for our travel," Christie said. "They aren't."

It's early in the season yet, and the team is just beginning to find its playing form, but Christie said they're liking their chances to "three-peat" as champions.