U15 Liners on cusp of bringing home National title

The U15 A Lloydminster Liners are currently in Saskatoon playing for the Canadian Fast Pitch Championship title. Supplied Photo

 

The U15 A Lloydminster Liners, playing out of Baseball Alberta, are currently representing the province as well as the Border City at the Canadian Fast Pitch Championship, with finals taking place this weekend.

The Liners are going up against the top 21 teams in the country at Saskatoon’s Gordie Howe Sports Plaza and are proudly representing Alberta alongside the St. Alberta Angels.

The tournament’s first pitch was thrown on Wednesday morning and each team will play two games per day until this weekend’s finals action.

“We have our first-ever Nationals,” said Liners’ pitcher Katherine Thiessen, better known by her team as “Moose.” 

“Last year they got cancelled because of COVID, so it’s a really exciting opportunity for some of our girls to have an experience like this.”

Thiessen explained making it to Nationals has been a season-in-the-making for the Liners, something the team is very proud of.

“I’ve known these girls for quite a while and we’ve played together for a long time, and I think over the years, we’ve really improved,” said Thiessen. “Last year we were almost undefeated for most of the season but lost towards the end. This year is different because we had a tough loss at the start of the year, so I feel that really helped by getting that off our shoulders.”

Thiessen also explained the team had to play four games in a row at Provincials in Calgary over the Canada Day long weekend to earn their spot at Nationals.

“A win at Nationals would mean a lot to this team,” she said. “It’s been a long time since a Liner won it.”

Liners head coach, Tyler Dougan, is looking forward to the experience his players are going to undergo before the weekend is over.

“It’s exciting for everyone and it’s a pretty big experience for these girls,” he said. “It will also be great for these girls to play against the best players in Canada, which is something they didn’t have the chance to do during COVID.”

Follow the U15 A Lloydminster Liners on Instagram for updates on this weekend’s action.

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Taylor Weaver
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