It took her a long time to make the roster, but the experience was more then worthwhile for Prince Albert’s Kiana Mullner.
The Prince Albert softball player was a part of the women’s softball team representing Saskatchewan at the Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ontario. It was a goal for Mullner to represent her province at a national level and it took her years to accomplish. She says pursuing her goal helped her grow, more then just as a softball player.
“There was a lot of ups and downs. I had a moment where I thought I did well and then another moment you are really upset because you didn’t show good, and I thought I wasn’t going to make the team. Throughout it all, I learned so much and grew so much as a player and as a person. “
Even though Team Saskatchewan finished just short of the podium finishing fourth in the tournament, Mullner says the team believed they had a shot to advance to the medal round in their game against Ontario.
“All of us really wanted it and believed that we could do it. Losing the game was really, really hard but at the same time, but at the same time the experience and all of it was amazing.”
Saskatchewan held a 3-1 lead after 5 innings, but Ontario scored 4 runs on five hits in the top half of the 6th inning including a two-run single off the bat of first basemen Deanna Grahek and an RBI double from catcher Katie Lorenz.
In the final game of the tournament for Team Sask, Mullner went 1 for 3 recording a single in the 2nd inning and walked and scored a run in the 4th.
The Canada Summer Games marked the end of the summer for Mullner, as she is currently in Hickory, North Carolina to begin her sophomore season with the Catawba Valley Community College Red Hawks. The Carlton alumnus is hoping to commit to a four-year school later this year.