The Richmond 2001B Islanders rep girls fastpitch team looked to recapture its magic at the 2016 North Delta Invitational.
The first-year U16 division team had won gold at North Delta in two of the previous three years and coach Greg Dee was eager to again lead his team against a field of 12 strong teams from the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Interior and Washington State.
Richmond went 2-2 during the round robin play to advance to the playoff round as the No. 7 seed.
In the quarter-final playoff game, the Islanders had to face off against the No. 2 seed — a powerful and more experienced 2000/2001 Bellingham Bash team. The Islanders got off to a slow start and were trailing 2-0 after the first inning. However, pitcher Megan Saez Co settled into a groove and only allowed one run the rest of the way. She kept the Bash batters on their heels, striking out 13 batters over six innings to get the complete game victory.
The Islanders took the lead with a three-run fourth inning, highlighted by RBI singles from Jessica Ryan, Elle Armitage and a sacrifice fly by Izy Wick to score Kate Dee, Ryan, and Tjammie Ko, respectively for a 4-3 win.
In the semi-finals, the Islanders made quick work of their opponent — Ridge Meadows Rage — by scoring five runs in the top of the first and never looked back in a convincing 11-1 victory.
Leading the way offensively for the Islanders was Hannah Collins with three RBIs and Saez Co.
She also pitched another brilliant game, allowing just three hits and one run over five innings of work, while the defence behind her was solid, highlighted by four outfield catches by Ko and a double play from Saez Co to Ryan and then to Wick.
The win catapulted the Islanders to the gold medal game against the heavily favoured and more experienced 2000 Fleetwood Force.
The Islanders, grabbed an early lead as Dee led off the game with a single and a stolen base before being driven home by Ryan. However, the advantage was short-lived as the Force took it to the Islanders with 13 straight runs.
The Islanders did finish strong as Saez Co had a two-run single in the last inning to score Ryan and Wick but the Islanders could not overcome the large deficit in a 13-3 defeat.
Despite the loss, coach Dee and his assistants — Jeff Collins, Eric Gee and Betson Saez Co — were extremely proud of the players for the level of competition brought forth throughout the weekend to capture silver.
The team also includes: Lila Crawford, Jessica Gee, Leah LaRocque, Tallia MacIver, Jessica Nonay and Asha Pannu.
