The Palmerston Marlin Bantams returned with gold medals from two recent tournaments.
From July 10-12 the Bantams competed in the Whitby Eagles Summer Slam Tournament. The girls took to the field despite the heat and battled teams from Port Perry, Peterborough, Whitby and Kitchener White. With a close loss in the opening game, the Marlins had to battle all the way back. Great offensive and defensive plays in the next games brought them to the medal round against Kitchener White and they blanked them 10-0 ina mercy-rule win to capture gold.
Following this successful weekend the girl went on to compete in provincial qualifiers in Stratford. The competition here was very intense beginning with a game against Kitchener Black, a team in they had not defeated this season. Tension was high as the score remained 3-1 for Kitchener for a few innings. However, Marlin Holly Jackson from Arthur stepped up to the plate and smashed a ball clean out of the park to bring the score to 4-3 for Palmerston. The Marlins kept Kitchener to three runs and defeated them with a final score of 5-3. Saturday and Sunday brought +30-degree heat but the girls battled through against Cambridge, LaSalle, and Springfield. In the semi-final game against Springfield Erin Schill delivered three great fastballs to three batters all of which were fielded and out by the marlins amazing defense for a three-pitch inning.
Remaining undefeated the Marlins advanced to the gold medal game, facing Springfield once more. The marlins started with a 1-0 lead and then Springfield brought home one run to tie. However the girls rallied right to the end to steal the gold medal with 2-1 score.
The win put the Bantam Marlins in the ‘A’ division heading into provincials playoffs on Aug. 7 to 9 at Bud Park in Kitchener.
