The St. Paul Storm represented the community well as the team hosted the U14 Peewee Girls ‘C’ and ‘D’ softball provincials in St. Paul from July 13 to 15 and in the end, finished in fourth place.
“The past weekend was a success for the community,” says head coach Ron Wirsta. The provincial championship event brought in a total of 14 teams from across Alberta, 11 in the ‘C’ category and four in the ‘D’ side. And the event “was hosted very professionally by all volunteers involved” and supported by many local businesses, says Wirsta.
The Storm played its first game at 11 a.m. on Friday against Provost. Despite starting strong, the team lost 14-7, but rebounded with a big win against Strathmore later in the day.
On day two of round robin play, a two-hour rain delay would hold things back, but St. Paul would see its best day of the tournament and eventually beat Stettler and High Park. The girls came out “very strong on Saturday for both games,” says Wirsta.
Meagan Wirsta, one of the players on the team and daughter to the coach, agreed the team played best on Saturday. She says it was a great experience to play a provincial tournament at home and says that this was the third year the team competed in provincials.
The team moved into semifinals on Sunday morning, and despite the team’s name and best efforts, the rainstorm that moved through the St. Paul area that morning would not be a benefit to the girls. The rain “left our team flat for the semi-final versus Irma and the bronze medal match versus Jarvie,” says Wirsta.
“We did not play well in the rain, but the girls did have a good experience.”
Gold – Provost
Silver – Irma
Bronze – Jarvie
Fourth – St. Paul
Gold – Delburne
Silver – Sundre
Bronze – Innisfail
Fourth - Calahoo
