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Pipe earns accolades as team nabs top national spot
Hardware
Jack Pipe of Brussels brought home not only a gold medal
as the Shallow Lake Bantam squad, his team, won the
national U16 boys softball championship in Owen Sound,
but also the All-Star Fielder Award for being the top centre
fielder in the tournament. (Photo submitted)
Silver medalists
The Blyth U15 Boys team captured silver during their year-
end tournament on August 6. The team faced off against
Wingham in the finals but were bested 5-0, earning them
the second -place finish.. (Photo submitted)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Brussels baseball player Jack Pipe
has returned home from the 2016
Canadian U16 Boys softball
championship in Owen Sound with
some new hardware.
The Shallow Lake Bantam squad,
Pipe's team, overcame an initial loss
in the tournament to earn the gold
medal win.
The tournament started on
Wednesday, Aug. 10 and saw teams
play in several games up until the
playoffs which were set to begin
Saturday.
The intense rain that hit the area
on Saturday, however, resulted in a
tight schedule on Sunday for the
championship games. Pipe's team
Johnston
Brussels native and Palmerston
Marlins pitcher Jessica Johnston is
turning heads when she steps on the
diamond.
Johnston set an impressive record
at the Tier 1 U16 Provincial
Woman's Softball Grand
Championships in Kitchener late
last month and drew the attention of
the Barrie Storm, a U16
team heading to the
Canadian Championships later this
month.
During the round robin portion of
the Grand Championships, Johnston
pitched 31 innings and didn't give
up a single run, notching an Earned
Runs Average (ERA) of 0. The feat
made it easy to see why she was
named the top pitcher in the
tournament.
She was contacted by the Barrie
Storm, who asked her to play for the
team during the national
championships later this month.
Johnston's team played in the
Ontario Summer Games over the
weekend. She guessed that her team
would do well as they had already
faced many of the teams they were
scheduled to play.
The Marlins were edged out of the
tournament during the playoff round
ended up playing four games over
eight hours.
Shallow Lake hosted the
tournament, and, when it came time
for the tournament finals against
Warman Poly Plus Pride from
Saskatchewan, found the home field
advantage helped out as they earned
a 5-4 win.
Their earlier playoff games saw
them earn a 6-2 win over the K -W
Twins, a 1-0 win over the
Newfoundland Selects, a 7-1 win
over the Napanee AFW Express
team and initially lose to the Twins
4-3.
"It was what's called a double -life
tournament," Pipe explained. "So
every game we played after that first
loss to K -W was potentially an
elimination game."
•
aims ror
losing 5-4 against Byron and 3-2
against Waterloo. During the first
round of the tournament, the squad
lost 6-2 against Waterloo, beat
Amherstburg 4-3 and tied Delaware
4-4.
Johnston said that being able to
play at such a high level
is something she has really
enjoyed.
"I started playing baseball in
Brussels when I was younger and
someone told my parents that I
should look to the Palmerston
Marlins to keep playing," she said.
"I'm now in my fifth season with
them and it's great."
Johnston said the team has great
coaching, great teammates and faces
off against challenging opponents,
which makes for a great experience.
Johnston was on the way home
from the tournament, where her
sister Jordyn also played for the
Novice Marlins squad, when she
found out about being named top
pitcher.
"It was awesome," she said. "My
coach called me and told me what
happened and it was great."
A few days after receiving that
news, Johnston received the call
from Barrie and said she was happy
Pipe said the tournament went
well, and that the team played well
every game.
For his part, he said he batted well
and was very happy to win the award
for being the best centre fielder in
the tournament.
"Overall, it was a very good
week," he said.
Pipe, who played for the K -W
Kolts last year in the Eastern
Canadian Softball Championships
and brought home a silver medal
from there, said it was a good end to
his season and said he was starting
to look towards off-season training.
"I'm hoping to keep training over
the winter and trying to pursue gold
again next year," he said, explaining
he had been out practising nearly
every day this season.
nationals
to have the opportunity to play at the
national level since it wasn't
something she had ever achieved
before.
While the season had been a
bumpy one for the Marlins, with the
team not posting any wins
throughout regular play, Johnston
said the seventh -place finish in the
provincials that earned the team a
spot in the summer games was proof
they could do well.
That kind of work, however,
doesn't come without training and
dedication.
Johnston explained that, starting
in January, she had been training
twice a week and, when the warmer
weather arrived, the team started
practising and playing weekly.
"It's something you have to stick
to," she said.
Watch The Citizen for updates on
Johnston's drive for the
championships.
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