Stittsville 56ers Novice Girls win provincial championship

from Matt Wheatley

The Stittsville 56ers Girls (ages 13-14) won the 2016 Ontario Selects Novice Softball Championship in Unionville this past weekend, knocking off the team from Forest Glade 11-8 in the final. The girls went undefeated throughout the tournament led by solid pitching from Jordyn Leboutillier, Alyssa Rollin and Avery Smith.

Head Coach Dan Rollin was thrilled with the win. “The girls played as a team, we were solid top to bottom, everyone got key hits, everyone contributed. Our defense was solid and our pitching was great. Our team motto this year was “together”, we certainly played like it this weekend.”

The 56ers ended round robin play with wins over Oakville (8-0), Brampton (7-3) and Richmond Hill (10-0). Clutch hitting was key for the wins. Jordyn Lindsay led the offense with consistent hitting including a grand slam, while 1^st year novice players Sarah Di Crese and Jayde Shouldice had timely hits to propel the team to victory in several  games.

Veteran player Fiona Wheatley noted the maturity of her teammates. “We didn’t panic, we didn’t give up, we just played the game the way we were coached and now we are Ontario Champs.”

Reagan Lonbary’s speed on the bases caused havoc for the opposition while the defense had many noteworthy plays, including several from standout shortstop MacKenzie Bresee.

The Sunday games brought wins vs. Erindale (15-2) and Mallorytown (10-4) setting up the final vs. Forest Glade, a suburb of Windsor. Both games featured strong hitting from the 56ers including multiple hit games by center fielder Brianne Flowers.

The final was a nail bitter for Stittsville, trailing the entire game until the bottom on the sixth inning finally exploding for 5 runs. The offense was led by catcher Violet MacEven who went 4 for 4 including a clutch single in the 6^th to propel the team to victory. When asked before the game how many hits she’d get in the final said “Every time I’m up.” Starting pitcher Leboutillier went the distance for the 56ers racking up 10 strikeouts in the win.

The future looks bright for the 56ers as all but four players are returning to the novice division including the entire pitching staff.

Bottom Row Left to right: Avery Smith, Violet MacEwen, Jayde Shouldice

Middle Row Left to right: Sarah Di Crese, Brianna Flowers, MacKenzie Bresee

Back Row Left to right: Matt Wheatley (coach), Jordyn LeBoutillier, Reagan Lonsbary, Dan Rollin (Head Coach) Jordyn Lindsay, Fiona Wheatley, Alyssa Rollin, Jon LeBoutillier (coach), Missing Danika Gareau