Reds clinch top spot

Host team begins playoffs this morning

The host Scotiabank Reds have finished first in the round-robin portion of Softball Canada’s senior women’s fastpitch championship.

The Reds, Prince Edward Island’s 2017 Canada Summer Games team, defeated Team P.E.I.’s Island Impact 6-0 at Ellis Field in O’Leary on Friday night to move into a firstplace tie with the defending champions from Ontario, the Whitby Senior Eagles.

Both teams completed the round robin 5-1, but the Reds get first place based on their head-to-head win over the Eagles.

The Island Impact (0-6) finished last in the seven-team tournament, but they leave the tournament with their heads held high. They saved their best ball for the final day of the round robin.

After losing their first four games by the mercy rule, the Impact went into Friday knowing they’d be facing the top two teams.

But the Eagles and Reds had to go the full seven innings against the Impact. The Eagles won the morning game 6-2.

In the evening game, the Reds took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, extended it to 3-0 and 5-0 in the third and fifth innings, before finishing out the scoring in the seventh.

Alyssa Fleming, who saw action in all six Reds’ games, threw a complete-game threehitter, walking two and striking out nine.

Kelly Lea, Stacy Montgomery and Jody Kinney were the only batters to get a hit off Fleming.

Jada Yeo went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI for the Reds. Sarah Woodside was 2-for-3, Clara Jane Wood was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Emily Cairns was 1-for-3.

Maggie MacIssac pitched the first four and two-thirds innings for the Impact, surrendering five runs on eight hits. Her summary included three walks and two strikeouts. Priscilla Curran finished the game, allowing a hit and a run while striking out one and walking one.

The top six teams advance to the playoffs, which start today at 9 a.m., with the first-place Reds taking on the fourthplace Whitby Intermediate Eagles.

The second-place Whitby Senior Eagles will play the Quebec Rebelles, the thirdplace team, at 11 a.m.

The winners of those games will meet at 7 p.m. The championship contest is Sunday at 2 p.m.