Under the hot Kelowna sun on Mother’s Day weekend, a group of 12 Penticton fastpitch players only had one thing on their minds after winning the coveted gold medal at a tournament away from home.
It wasn’t to have a celebration on the field and take pictures with their newly won medals, but rather, to call their friend and fellow teammate, Kadence, who had suffered a tournament-ending injury just one-day earlier.
“They all told me they’re going to win the tournament for her right after that, and that’s what they did,” recalled Tyler Evans, head coach of the Penticton Power U13 girls’ team.
The team outdueled squads on May 14, from Chilliwack and West Kelowna, among others, en route to capturing the gold medal over 14 other B.C.-based teams.
Kadence, meanwhile, broke her leg in just the second game of the tournament’s round-robin phase while sliding into home. With still a long way to go before any winners could be crowned, the Penticton Power U13 girls were adamant about dedicating the rest of their games to Kadence.
And to them, that meant winning it all and putting Penticton on top of B.C.’s U13 fastpitch scene.
“They dug down, played their hearts out and got it done,” Evans said.
The U13 coach added that the Power were on the winning side of a pair of extra-inning thrillers during their gold-medal run.
He says the first thing they did after capturing gold was to call their injured teammate via Facetime and let her know that they won it all for her.
“As soon as they won, that’s what happened,” Evans said. “They were super excited about that.”
The Penticton Power U13 girls’ team returns to the field this weekend to defend gold when they battle teams from across the province in a Vernon-hosted tournament.
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