Four in a row
Colonel Gray gets by Three Oaks in entertaining final
The Colonel Gray Colonels defeated the Three Oaks Axewomen 8-6 in the gold-medal game of the P.E.I. School Athletic Association Senior Girls Softball League final Wednesday afternoon.
The Colonel Gray Colonels are making up for lost time in the P.E.I. School Athletic Association Senior Girls Softball League. “We went 46 years without winning it, and now we have won four in a row, which is kind of nice,” said Colonels head coach Gordie Cox after his team defeated the Three Oaks Axewomen 8-6 in an entertaining gold-medal game on Wednesday afternoon. “We kind of like winning it!” In the semifinals earlier in the day, the Colonels doubled the Bluefield Bobcats 8-4 while the Axewomen got by the Westisle Wolverines 5-4. Westisle then topped Bluefield 5-2 to win the bronze medal. “Everyone bought in and everybody got their shot,” said Cox, who added the 2018 edition of the Colonels featured the biggest team he has ever coached at Gray – 16 players. “It was really a great team that supported each other. “This is one of the proudest moments I’ve ever had coaching because you are managing such a big number.”
Early lead
The Axewomen came out on fire against the Colonels, building an early 5-1 lead. The Colonels, however, refused to panic and battled back to tie the game in the third inning, and scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh frames. Three Oaks answered with a single run in the sixth. “Our team stayed composed,” said Cox in addressing the early deficit. “We knew the runs were going to come, and we just had to stay in the game. “It was one of the best finals I’ve seen. It could have went either way. At the end they had the bases loaded with one out, and were only down a couple of runs. It was a fantastic game.” Winning pitcher Margaret Reynolds, who relieved starter Sydney Halliwell to start the fourth inning, escaped the seventh-inning jam to earn the win. “Mo (Reynolds) did a great job coming in,” said Cox. “Those girls have pitched together their whole life, and it’s neat how they support each other.”
Top hitters
Offensively, Emily Reynolds (2-2, walk), Halliwell (2-4) and Emily Waugh (2-4, two runs batted in) led the Colonels. Kenzie Arsenault (3-4), Lauren Lilly (3-4) and Taylor Gillis (2-4) were the top batters for Three Oaks against the Colonels. Tegan Corkum also had a big day at the plate for the Axewomen, driving in nine runs in the team’s two games. Caeleigh MacDonald went the distance on the mound for the Axewomen in both games. “To be honest, to come here and play against the top team in the Island the last number of years, we expected to have a good game against them,” said Axewomen head coach Greg Ellis. “We have such a tight squad and knowing that if our pitcher Caeleigh kept doing what she can, we would have a close game.” Ellis said that after a slow start the Axewomen enjoyed an “incredible” season. “It’s crazy the leaps and bounds we made this year to get to the final,” said Ellis. “The girls played phenomenal, and just really worked hard and had a lot of focus to get where we got to. . . I’m incredibly pleased. “At the start of the year we knew we had a lot of potential, but you never really know how you will fare out. We could definitely consider this a success.”w