The playoff rounds are underway for three Prince Albert softball teams at their respective national champions.
At the Under 19 Canadian Men’s Fast Pitch Championship in Napanee, Ont., the Prince Albert U19 Astros had a 6-2 record to finish in fourth place but lost their first game of the championship pool to the top ranked Napanee Express by a score of 4-3.
They will be back in action this afternoon against either the Belmore Sting from Ontario or the Chayee Bourras Selects of Newfoundland and Labrador.
After losing a 12-2 affair to the Ontario based Chepstow Lang Farms team Friday morning, the Astros were to have faced the Caledonia Athletics from Ontario in their last round-robin game that evening, but that was postponed to Saturday morning due to rain.
Despite the long wait, the Astros would come out on top by scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to win 5-4.
Landon Couture had three hits for the Astros in the win, while Troy Preymack pitched seven innings and struck out eight batters.
Meanwhile, the Prince Albert U14 Aces finished with a 3- 2 record in round-robin play at the Under 14 Canadian Girls’ Fast Pitch Championship in Montreal but just missed out on being one of the 12 teams to make the championship pool.
They began their consolation round in style this morning with a dramatic 9-8 win over the Saskatoon Hustlers and will now go up against the Port Perry Angels from Ontario this afternoon.
After losing the first game of the day Friday to the British Columbia based Tri-City Titans by a score of 8-1, the Aces finished out their round-robin slate on a winning note with a 5-3 win over the B.C. Thunder.
Jazlyn Pshebnicki had a pair of RBI’s for the Aces in the victory, as they broke open a 3-3 tie with by driving in two runs in the top of the seventh inning.
In Winnipeg, the Prince Albert U16 Aces are in the consolation round at the Under 16 Canadian Girls’ Fast Pitch Championship and started things off of a winning note with a 9-8 win over the Red Deer Rage Saturday morning.
Olivia Parker had three RBI’s for the Aces, who jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held off a comeback bid by the Rage.
They will return to action tonight against the winner of a game between the Victoria Devils and the Winnipeg Lightning.
The Aces had a 1-5 record in the round-robin after losing an 11-4 affair to the Fraser Valley Fusion from British Columbia and dropping a 5-3 decision to the Vaughan Vikings of Ontario on Friday.
All three tournaments will crown their champions Sunday.
