U-12 Neepawa Nitros win silver

Click on the logos above to read our digital editions

U-12 Neepawa Nitros win silver

Details: Published on Thursday, July 7, 2016

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The Neepawa Nitros under-12 softball team closed out its season with a spectacular effort at the provincial championship in Buhler. The team earned a silver medal at the event, which featured 26 clubs from across Manitoba. The Nitros went undefeated in the round robin portion of the weekend tournament and advanced all the way to the championship, before losing a close 5-3 decision to Glenboro.

Coach Jerry Chudley said the team put in an exceptional effort right from the opening pitch of their first game of the weekend.

“The round robin was good. Our opening game was against the Brandon Heat, which we knew was going to be tough. We won that one, so that was a real confidence builder for the kids,” said Chudley.

After the Brandon game, Neepawa picked up additional wins in the round robin over the Westdale Warriors, Oxford Heights and Killarney Stars. Chudley noted that the confidence of the team grew with every game.

“We had some expectations going into the tournament. The team has played very well all season, but with 26 teams involved, anything can happen,” Chudley noted. “There is so much talent out on the field, realistically even just qualifying for the playoff portion of the weekend is something to be proud of. Once we won our first two games, we realized that we were definitely in a good position to make it into the playoffs.”

Though the Nitros were unable to win their final game of the season, Chudley said the players should be extremely proud of the progress they’ve made throughout the year.

“I think they played really hard. Practiced hard throughout the year. They really developed an understanding of the game, listened to the coaches and picked up a lot of little things on how to play the game the right way. I think the big thing is the mental side of the game, as well. That’s improved a lot for them this year. It’s a good core of kids. They’ve grown up a lot through the course of the year,” he said