59ers cap perfect season with provincial title

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This article was published 22/08/2019 (2090 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Going through the entire season undefeated, the Eastman 59ers, a local women’s fastpitch club, claimed the Softball Manitoba Senior Intermediate Fastpitch Championship last weekend at the John Blumberg Softball Complex, edging the Manitoba Thunder 8-7 in a thrilling provincial final.

This provincial championship title for the 59ers was no fluke.

Competing in the Winnipeg Ladies Fastpitch League, the 59ers topped the loop winning all 15 of their games, which garnered them the number one seed at the 12-team provincial championship. They promptly went out and won five more games to finish the season with a perfect 20-0 record.

The 59ers rolled through the round robin at provincials with decisive victories over the Warriors, the Rockets and the Fury.

They then opened the playoffs with an 18-5 quarter-final win over the Mayhem.

This pitted them against the rival Peaches in the semis. Strong pitching by Meagan Klippenstein and Kori Gryba, combined with stellar defensive play, led the 59ers to an 8-1 triumph.

Things didn’t go well for the 59ers in the early going of the final against the Thunder as the Thunder jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead.

However, the 59ers began to chip away at the lead, making the score 7-3 heading into the sixth inning, with the help of an inside-the-park home run by Kaycee Funk.

After shutting down the Thunder in the top of the inning, the 59ers loaded the bases and tied the game on a pair of two-run base hits by Mandy Laninga and Sydney Plaisier as these teams headed to the final inning deadlocked at 7-7.

The Thunder failed to score in the top of the seventh. With the 59ers at bat in the bottom of the inning, and the provincial title within their grasp, Tara Desrochers smacked a one-out base hit and then Erika Goertzen moved her over to second on a well-executed bunt.

That would be the last hit the 59ers needed as a bobbled pitch led to Desrochers stealing third base and ultimately racing home with the winning run as the catcher’s throw squirted past third base and into the outfield, setting off the perfunctory victory celebration.

It was quite a comeback, resulting in an 8-7 victory and it capped a perfect season for the Eastman 59ers.