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(Posted
8 a.m., Aug. 29)
Orléans
Rebels softball team wins provincial championship
By Fred Sherwin
OrleansOnline.ca
For
the first time in a long time, a softball team from Orléans
has been crowned provincial champs.
The
Orléans Rebels midget girls team recently accomplished
the feat at the Ontario Select Softball Tournament Association
(OSSTA) provincial champ-ionship held in Brantford on
Aug 19-20.
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The
Orléans Rebels U19 midget select team pose
with championship banner after winning the
OSSTA provincial championship earlier this
month. In no particular order the team roster
consists of Emilie Curriere, Vanessa Laporte,
Kenzie Dicks, Kylie Forth, Olivia Gault, Sarah
Gervais, Sofie Leduc, Chloe Malette, Claudia
Sleigh and Dominque Vachon. PHOTO SUPPLIED
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The
Rebels started the two-day tourna-ment with a 7-7 tie
against Erindale, but then reeled off two straight wins
over Topham Park (9-7) and Mallorytown (12-2) to finish
in first place in their divi-sion after round robin play.
They
rode the momentum of their round robin success into their
opening playoff game against Waterloo who they beat 7-4
after falling behind early 3-0 and then 4-2.
The
Rebels had to put on their rally caps again in the semi-finals.
After falling behind 2-0 to Martingrove, they managed
to battle back to win 5-4 and earn a spot in the gold
medal game against North Bay.
Never
ones to shirk from a challenge of their own making, the
Rebels spotted the Northern Ontario team a 4-1 lead before
battling back to tie the game at 5-5 and force an extra
inning.
The
tournament uses international rules which allows each
team to start their half of the extra inning with a runner
on second base. Playing at the top of the inning, the
Rebels were able to bring their runner around on a wild
pitch to break the deadlock. They would add two more runs
during their at bat and then shut North Bay down in the
bottom of the inning to preserve the win and claim the
gold medal.
The
team is actually a collection of players from the Orléans
Amateur Fastball Association's four midget House League
teams with a couple of add-ons needed to round out the
roster.
The
core of the team, which consists of six Orléans girls,
and one player each from Rockland, Vars, Ottawa and Stittsville,
won a pair of provincial bantam championships in 2016.
In
the lead up to the OSSTA tournament, the team finished
third at a tournament in Whitby, and then went undefeated
through the round robin portion of a tournament in Port
Perry before losing their first playoff game.
The
team's success is remarkable con-sidering the limited
pool of players they get to draw from. According to the
team's assistant coach, Ken Sleigh, many of the teams
they play against in the Toronto area and Southern Ontario
have league two and three times the size of the OAFA.
Sleigh
is hoping the midget team's success and that achieved
by the U16 bantam team this season will encourage more
girls in the area to take up the sport.
"It's
a great team sport and you can play it at both the recreational
or competitive level,� says Sleigh.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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TAPROOM 260 presents Crooked Creek live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
MATT LULOFF W/ EDISON RUPERT performing at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park. To register your team visit 
OTTAWA CARLETON MALE CHOIR in concert at the Navan-Vars United Church 1129 Smith Rd. in Navan at 2:30 p.m. Tickets $20 at the door.
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. presents Oyster Wednesdays every Wednesday. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near McDonalds.
BLACKBURN HAMLET COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The entire community is invited…rain or shine! Please keep visiting blackburn.ca for more up-to-date information as it becomes available.
