Prince Albert U14 Aces come from behind to win their first title in four years

The Prince Albert U14 ‘A’ Aces defeated the Sherwood Park Storm 8-3 to capture their second Girls Prairie Softball League (GPSL) MacLean-Ross Cup over the weekend in St. Albert, Alta.

The championship wrapped up a strong GPSL season for the Aces, who went into the competition with a 10-4 record, finishing second to Sherwood Park in their division. The GPSL U14 ‘A’ league includes 14 teams from Calgary, Edmonton, Lloydminster, Maple Ridge, B.C., PA, Red Deer, Sherwood Park, Alta. and St. Albert.

“It’s a lot of travel for us but … we get to develop all the kids, get them in each game playing multiple positions,” Aces head coach Devon Kolosa said.

“When you play league play it’s not win or lose. It doesn’t matter. You go in there and give your kids the best chance to develop so they’re ready for our provincials. That’s my goal as a coach.”

The Aces kicked off the round robin stage with a 5-2 win over the Red Deer Rage on Friday night and followed that up with a 11-3 thrashing of the top-ranked Calgary Kaizen the following morning. PA took on Sherwood Park in Game 3, falling by a 10-6 score.

After the loss, PA dropped down a bracket to face the Lloydminster Liners in the semifinals. The Aces were down 9-5 against the Liners before battling back to tie the score 9-9. The game required three extra innings before PA finally secured a 13-11 victory. Because the game took longer than expected, the team, “sore and tired,” had only a brief 15-minute break before facing Sherwood Park in the gold-medal match.

“We were down 3-0 into the sixth inning and then the girls’ bats came alive there and we put seven runs on them in the sixth, one extra run in the seventh and the we finished the game off,” Kolosa said.

“It feels pretty good to come out there and battle hard against those Alberta teams and come home with a cup.”

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