Team Sask. survives marathon against Alberta, moves to 2-0 at 19U Women’s Nationals

Team Saskatchewan won’t be getting much rest on Friday night, but they wouldn’t have it any other way after a wild comeback win on Day 2 of 19U Women’s Baseball National Championships in Saskatoon.

Saskatchewan outlasted Alberta 19-13 in a four-hour epic at Cairns Field, in a game which included four lead changes and 32 combined runs.

Down to their last two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Saskatchewan rallied to force extra innings and scored seven runs in the ninth inning to break the deadlock to the cheers of the home province fans in the stands.

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“We were absolutely pumped up in that top of the ninth,” said Saskatchewan short stop and pitcher Victoria Bateman. “We were fired up, ready to go, ready to bring this one home.”

The win keeps Saskatchewan in the hunt for a semi-final berth on Sunday, with 10 players managing to drive in runs Friday.

That level of production wasn’t surprising to star infielder Braidy Birdsall, who put together a five-RBI performance to one-up her four-RBI night on Thursday.

“I wasn’t shocked,” Birdsall said.

“We’re a very gritty team and one through nine, everybody on this entire team can hit the ball hard and do what needs to be done. We’ve practiced for this, we’re not new to this type of pressure and it’s just kind of more exciting than nerve-wracking at this point.”

Saskatchewan head coach Tony Black said overcoming adversity is baked into this year’s roster and that was proven with how the team managed late deficits and a game which lasted two extra innings.

“When we struggle, we just come back stronger,” Black said. “We don’t give up and this is the way Team Saskatchewan plays. We maybe get down a few runs, we come back with a few runs.”

Bateman was named Saskatchewan’s player of the game on Friday after going 2-for-4 at the dish with one run and one RBI, along with several key plays at short stop before pitching the final 3.2 innings in the win.

She said it was daunting having to throw 62 pitches after playing six innings in the field, but said her teammates were able to back her up.

“Definitely a little anxious, but I knew I had some great (defence) behind me,” Bateman said. “Amazing catch out in centre field by Andie (Marshall), so it was great knowing that I had great defence behind me and I was just able to relax up there.”

Birdsall said the 18-year-old Bateman did her job and more on Friday night, with six strikeouts including on the final batter of the ninth inning.

“We knew that there was going to be a lot of swings and misses and weak contacts,” Birdsall said. “I knew she had it in her and I was just excited to see her get that final strikeout.”

Saskatchewan came out strong with three runs in the top of the first inning, until Alberta answered with two runs of their own.

Team Saskatchewan eventually got out to a 5-2 lead, that was until a nightmare fourth inning which saw the host province struggle with errors and wild pitches which saw Alberta answer back with five runs of their own.

Trailing by an 8-6 count in the top of the sixth inning, Birdsall came through with an RBI double to tie up the score at 8-8 until Alberta uncorked three runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Facing a three-run deficit in the seventh inning, Bateman singled on a line drive to left field to make it an 11-10 game following a walked-in run with the bases loaded.

Two more walks brought in a pair more runs for Saskatchewan to take a 12-11 lead into the bottom of the seventh with a chance to win the game, but an error allowed Alberta’s Claire Hingley to score to force extra innings.

After a scoreless eighth inning, Saskatchewan re-took the lead in the top of the ninth with a walked-in run with the bases loaded.

That brought Birdsall up to the plate, who fell behind 0-2 in the count early but was able to refocus and clear the bases with an RBI double to centre field to score three insurance runs.

“I realized I dug myself into quite a hole, but I don’t go out without a fight,” Birdsall said.

“I just kept fouling off my pitches until she made a mistake and threw one right in my barrel house, I just took it for a ride.”

Birdsall has been dominant in her two games at 19U Women’s Nationals so far, going 7-for-9 at the plate with a .778 batting average and nine RBIs.

“Braidy is a person that’s clutch,” Black said. “Braidy will hit that ball and hit it hard, and that’s just the way Braidy is. She is something extraordinary that way, for sure.”

Saskatchewan remains in first place in Pool B with a 2-0 record in round-robin play and join Quebec as the only provinces without a loss at the tournament so far.

Bateman said Friday’s marathon victory makes qualifying for the semi-finals much simpler, they’re chasing an undefeated record in pool play.

“It gives us a little cushion room, but we’re still here competing,” Bateman said. “We want that first place, so trying to do the best as we can to finish tops in our pool.”

It’s going to be a quick turnaround for Team Saskatchewan, as they celebrated their final out at 11:30 p.m. only to face Newfoundland and Labrador on Saturday just over 12 hours later.

Birdsall isn’t worried about tired legs though, with a chance at completing a perfect round-robin.

“We’re all in high spirits,” Birdsall said. “Even though it was a long game, I don’t think any of us are quite tired. I think our eyes are more and more on that prize, on that gold medal game.”

Saskatchewan will battle Newfoundland and Labrador at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Cairns Field to cap off their games in Pool B.