The New Westminster Royals put together a Cinderella Sunday to place second overall at the recent Softball B.C. under-14 girls' championships.
Following an eighth-place finish in round-robin play, New West went on a march to the final following an 8-6 loss to the Ridge Meadows Tigers in the opening game of the double-knockout playoffs in Newton on July 7.
The Royals then rattled off four straight wins, including an 8-5 turnaround win over the Tigers that guaranteed the Royal City girls a provincial medal.
But New West went one better, knocking off the Nanaimo Nitros - a team that had lost just one earlier game by a single run - by a 7-2 score to advance to the provincial final.
In the gold-medal game, Cawston Koyotes were relatively fresh having only played two games, while the Royals had played more than nine solid hours of ball.
Pitcher Kayla Suhner gave a valiant effort against the strong-hitting Koyotes. Kira Rieger ended the third inning with a great catch out in left field, while two singles each from Jordan Ring, Suhner, and Michelle Li were not enough as the Royals had to settle for the silver following a 9-2 decision.
New West started penning its fairy tale finish with a 6-4 win over the 3-0-1 North Delta Hurricanes. Trailing 4-3, Ella Bohn singled home Kylie Baker in the fifth and later came home to score the game-winning run.
The Royals then avenged an earlier loss to the Chilliwack Stealers, winning 5-3, including four runs by younger players Calista Hamilton and Li.
Theodora Corbeil and Keira Jang both pitched 16 shuout innings through New Westminster's gruelling 10-game tournament. Jordan Ring and Sarah Cox shared the catching duties behind the plate.
In round-robin play, Shelby Greenwell showed some good offence with a double in a 3-1 loss to Chilliwack and a key triple in a must-win final matchup that put the Royals through to the championship round.
Christina Lemieux had an RBI in the opening game against Cawston, while Keja Davis led New West to an 8-4 win over the Surrey Storm with a double and a single.
