SPORTS FLASHBACK 1985: Denim Drawer heading west for softball championships

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This article was published 23/07/2023 (706 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Steinbach Denim Drawer fastball club posted four straight victories this weekend on the way to a berth in the Western Canadian Intermediate Ladies’ Softball championships in Alberta next month.

Denim Drawer defeated two Winnipeg teams and a team from Dauphin to earn the right to represent the province in the Western Canadian championships Aug. 30-Sept. 2.

Steinbach capped a perfect weekend Sunday afternoon, when they scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning and added one in the sixth on the way to a 3-2 victory over Dauphin.

Lucy Gryba struck out four Dauphin hitters and gave up a pair of hits through the first four innings of the contest.

Cindy Dick sparked a Denim Drawer rally in the fifth inning, when she led off with a pinch-hit single. Lauri Perron reached first on an error when attempting to sacrifice and both runners later scored to give Steinbach a 2-0 lead. Dick made it 1-0 on Mikki Mallette’s hit to third and Perron scored easily when Cora Rempel hit a two-out single.

Gryba ran into trouble in top of the sixth, when the first two pitches were hit for singles. Heather Rhodes moved from the catcher’s spot to the rubber and Steinbach got out of the inning even at two apiece.

Ginette Carriere, who went in to catch, hit a single with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and moved to second on Terry Massicotte’s hit to the first baseman. Dick then followed with a two-out double to score Carriere with the go-ahead run.

Rhodes struck out the lead-off hitter in the top of the seventh, got the second hitter to hit ground out to second and was one strike away from the championship when she hit the next batter. No damage was done when a ground ball to second resulted in a tag, a 3-2 win and a berth in the Western Canadians.

The four-team elimination tournament in Steinbach got underway Friday evening, when Steinbach hosted North Enz and coasted to a 10-2 victory.

The second game of the round robin was a different story, as Dauphin and Steinbach traded runs in the early innings, and then Steinbach’s Gryba and Dauphin’s McQuarry waged a pitching duel, until the game went to the international tie-breaking rule, putting runners on base in the 10th.

Dauphin had a chance to end it in the eighth, but a perfect throw from Mallette in left field cut down the runner at the plate.

Steinbach scored the go ahead run, when Lisa Lipinski started the 10th inning at second and moved to third on a sacrifice. Lipinski scored when Gryba hit a single to win her own ball game.

Rhodes was back on the rubber to start the final game of the round robin against Winnipeg’s Woodhaven and Denim Drawer built up a 9-0 lead by top of the third.

Debbie Logan came in to pitch the balance of the contest for Steinbach and threw three innings of no-hit fastball.

That gave Steinbach a perfect three and zero record in round robin play.

Dauphin finished round robin at two wins and a loss, meaning they would have had to defeat Steinbach twice to win the championship.

The Denim Drawer team will be competing in Calgary, Alberta against teams from Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.