A pair of Stettler teams won silver medals on the weekend as Stettler’s minor softball association hosted its tournament.
The under-16 Stettler Sliders and the under-12 Stettler Bobbleheads each posted runner-up finishes on a busy weekend at local ball diamonds.
More than 25 teams in four divisions participated in the three-day event, with clubs from Stettler, Red Deer, Innisfail, Drayton Valley, Trochu, Lacombe, Delburne, Clive, Killam, Vermilion, Big Valley, Beaumont and Coronation.
“For the first year, we were able to use the newest ball diamonds south of the Wal-Mart,” said Stettler minor softball president Sheri Morbeck.
“They were the U16 and U10 diamonds for the weekend. All other games were played at the hospital diamonds and Parkdale, with one West Stettler diamond being used on Friday night.”
Stettler fielded six teams: the under-16 Sliders, two under-14 clubs, the under-12 Bobbleheads and Scorpions and the under-10 Bears.
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In the final, Stettler lost 5-4 to the Killam Thunder.
The Sliders had won all three of their round-robin games, including a victory over Killam.
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Both Stettler teams ended up in a four-way tie for third place, each with 2-2 records, but they fell out of the medal picture because of the runs-for and runs-against point system.
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The Bobbleheads had tied for first with Clive, but were relegated to second-place status because they lost to Clive in round-robin play.
Stettler (3-1) was made up of coach Brenda Brinson, assistant coach Laurie Myshaniuk and players Kayla Myshaniuk, Stephani Brown, Megan Kobi, Tamara Ball, Rebecca Bridge, Marley Brinson, Jesse Brinson, Louise Brozny, Taylor Carey and Makenna Landrie.
Meanwhile, the Scorpions finished in fourth place with a win, a loss and two ties.
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Stettler posted two wins and a loss as all five teams in the under-10 division “had a great day in the sun, filled with some good, fun ball games and extra goodies to snack on,” Morbeck said.
Stettler Minor Ball extends thanks to the sponsors, the parents who helped maintain the diamonds, and the town for looking after the trash and outhouses.
“Our tournament was a tremendous success,” Morbeck said.