Haley Payne, a university softball player from Lloydminster, stepped onto the world stage last week as part of the Saskatchewan 222’s in the Canada Cup international tournament at Surrey, B.C.
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The 222’s were one of three Canadian teams in the world women’s event. The Sask side posted a respectable 5-4 record.
In their final playoff game, the Saskatoon-based 222’s lost a 7-6 heartbreaker to the Chinese Taipei national team, which is ranked fourth in the world.
That performance in their second championship-round game felt like a victory for Payne and the 222’s, especially considering their club was just assembled shortly before the tournament, which also involved Team Canada and Canada Elite.
Lloydminster’s Haley Payne (back row, second from right) poses with her 222’s teammates at the
Canada Cup in Surrey, B.C. Submitted
Payne was a standout for the 222’s, with a .556 on-base percentage, four RBIs and a stolen base in the tournament.
Her team was made up of 14 young women who play softball at the post-secondary level in the U.S. and Canada. Payne, 20, and 222’s teammate Lauren Lugtigheid spent the past school year at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.
Payne began her collegiate career at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Mo.
Three Rivers is the same Missouri school that Lloydminster catcher Lucas Chappell is headed to this summer to begin his junior college baseball stint.
Payne is the daughter of former Lloydminster Twins player/coach Kevin Payne, who last summer was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame.
Kevin attended Haley’s tournament in Surrey this month and appreciated the atmosphere and high-level softball on display during the Canada Cup.
The international championship featured 15 teams.
The 222’s were in a division with Canada Elite, Peru, Singapore, TC Colorado, Chinese Taipei, Israel and Team American Samoa.
The other pool consisted of Team Canada, Brazil, China, Czechia, Venezuela, the New Zealand White Sox and Chinese Taipei’s development team.
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