The Victoria Devils ’96 lost 14-0 in the gold medal game to the Delta Heat in the girls under-16 Canadian fastpitch championships held in Brantford, Ont. on Sunday.
Constant rain delays made scheduling difficult for the organizers, but the sun managed to appear for Sunday’s final, a rematch of the Heat’s recent win over the Devils in the U16 provincial final.
The Devils had plenty of confidence going into the national final, having defeated the Heat in pool play on Saturday 7-3. But the Heat was too much, chasing pitcher Jasmine Strandlund in the second inning, and scoring four runs in each of the first and second innings, and then six more in the third inning.
Ashley Penney pitched five and two thirds innings with three strikeouts to help the Devils ’96 beat the Mississauga Tigers (Ont.) 4-2 on Sunday morning and qualify for the final.
This week the Victoria Devils ’94 team opened the U18 Canadian Championships in Montreal with a pair of wins, 3-2 over the St. Albert Angels (Alta.) on Sunday and an 8-1 drubbing of the Regina Riot (Sask.) on Monday.
sports@vicnews.com