She Got Game

In keeping my word that I was going to check out the action, I was out and about earlier today in the town of Stonewall where the 2022 Women's Invitational Baseball Tournament was being held! In checking my schedule and coordinating it with the tournament's schedule, I landed on the 11:45am game on Saturday that featured Nova Scotia and Alberta squaring off on the diamond. While I have no affiliation to either province in any way, I do know a few of the players who were playing for these two teams thanks to their hockey exploits! Settle in for a recap because HBIC is reaching into the baseball world for this article!

As the sun rose high in the air and was offset by the occasional passing cloud, Nova Scotia was the visiting team on the scoreboard and wearing white as the Alberta squad poured out to their defensive positions in their blue uniforms. The public address announcer gave the batting order for both teams, and this is where my focus was as I listened intently to the lineups for three specific names.

The first name I was listening for as the Nova Scotia lineup was read was "Carly Jackson". Carly, as you may know from listening to The Hockey Show, is a former Maine Black Bears goaltender who played with the PHF's Buffalo Beauts before signing with the PHF's Toronto Six in this offseason! Carly wore #7 for Team Nova Scotia as she played third base and batted seventh in the lineup for the Maritimers on this day. And before we move to other names, Carly, as you can see to the right, is wearing the pyjama pants style of baseball pants. Some of her teammates were in stirrups, and I have to admit that I liked the look of breaking up the mono-white uniform that Nova Scotia sported with the colourful hosiery. Regardless of my uniform opinion, though, Carly was out there playing the hot corner!

The home team had a couple of players that are familiar to Canada West fans, and we'll start with the woman on the mound as she's well-known for her scoring exploits and offensive skills on the ice! Madison Willan took the mound for Alberta on Saturday wearing #6, but anything hockey in the summer can be overshadowed by this young woman's baseball skills. I've written about her baseball skills before on this blog as a member of Canada's National Women's Baseball Team, but seeing her play live and in-person is like watching a baseball superstar. From her warmup to her preparation to her focus on the mound and at the plate, Madison's skills with the glove and bat were on display in Stonewall as she was looking to sit the Nova Scotia hitters down with every pitch! Honestly, I didn't expect to see Madison on the mound on Saturday as her game was better known for her defensive play on the infield, but, based on what we've seen on the ice, is there anything she can't do including pitching? Hint: that answer is no. For the record, Madison batted third for Team Alberta.

The other name I was listening for was the woman who is usually one-half of the battery for Team Alberta, and that's Kaitlyn Ross! Kaitlyn is better known to hockey fans as one of the stellar goalies who protects the net for the Mount Royal Cougars, but her summers are spent on the baseball diamond where she's calling a game from behind the plate! Wearing #17, I can confirm she has a cannon of an arm as her throws to second during the warmups were on the mark, and she and Madison clearly had a gameplan going into this game based on the chatter between them prior to and during the game. Kaitlyn batted in the clean-up spot for Team Alberta!

The two teams battled through three innings with only one runner reaching base after a fielding error, but the fourth inning and second time through the lineup was where Alberta struck. In the bottom of the fourth, Madison Willan drew a walk and stole second base to give Alberta a runner in scoring position for Kaitlyn Ross. Ross followed that up with a walk of her own to put two runners on for Alberta. Andie Suhai, batting fifth, loaded the bases moments later with an infield single!

That's when Tyra Stanich stepped to the plate and made her impact felt. After taking a strike, Stanich lined a shot over the head of centerfielder Ellie MacAulay on a ball that looked to carry in the warm air, and it would eventually stop at the wall as MacAulay scrambled to recover it. The miscue allowed Willan to score from third, Ross to score from second, and Suhai would make her way home all the way from first base. Stanich had a good head of steam, and she got the wave home from the Alberta coach at third base. With the relay coming, Stanich slid into home and beat the throw to record the grand slam for Alberta as they went up 4-0 at the bottom of the fourth inning! Would that be enough run support for Madison Willan on the mound?

Willan continued to pitch well as she kept the Nova Scotia hitters off balance. One hitter who managed to figure her out for an at-bat was Carly Jackson as she lined a shot up the middle into shallow centerfield for a single! Despite Jackson's single, there wasn't a lot of offence to talk about on the Nova Scotia side as any ground ball was turned into an out by the infield while a number of hits that looked to find holes were erased by the Alberta outfielders. If one was looking for a solid defensive effort in this game, Alberta certainly turned one in thanks to some timely diving catches in the outfield and some solid defensive play on the infield!

The sixth inning saw Madison Willan's legendary bat come alive once again as she turned on a pitch and sent a rocket down the third base line that landed just in front of the warning track before bouncing over the outfield wall for the ground rule double. With Carrie Jespersen having reached base on a single before stealing second base and tagging up on a fly ball to reach third, the double by Willan gave her an RBI in this game as the score moved to 5-0 in favour in Alberta. Willan would be stranded at third base in the inning, but the damage had been done as Nova Scotia were three outs from a final score in this contest.

Three more batters would be all that Willan saw as she induced a ground out before a couple of fly balls to right field were caught for outs as she went the complete game for the win! Willan showed great pitch control all day in pacing Alberta to the win with 67 strikes on 115 pitches, and she allowed just two hits over seven innings while striking out one and walking none. I know Ross isn't Crash Davis from Bull Durham, but Willan was playing Crash Davis ball as she got ground balls on 10 of 21 outs in the game. And she likely saved her own life when she flashed the leather off a Tessa Hood line drive ripped right back at her in the fifth inning! All in all, it was a great pitching effort by Willan in earning the two-hit victory while going 2-for-2 at the dish with a double, a walk, two stolen bases, a run scored, and an RBI!

Kaitlyn Ross had a solid afternoon for Team Alberta as she finished the game 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in the victory. She was tagged with a passed ball on a pitch that allowed Nova Scotia's Leah Copeland to advance from first to second in the top of the sixth inning, but she was very steady behind the plate for Team Alberta. Meanwhile, Nova Scotia's Carly Jackson finished the day going 1-for-2 while being charged for two throwing errors. In Carly's defence, at least one of those balls seemed very catchable at first base, but the scorers at the game assigned the error on the throw. For the position players who normally wear the most pads on the ice, it was a solid day on the diamond as both Carly and Kaitlyn were on-base and making things happen!

Both teams will play tomorrow after Alberta, playing in the Saturday night quarterfinal against Ontario 1, lost 16-0 in a game that got away from them in the second inning when Ontario scored 12 times. That ends Alberta's run for a medal at the event, and they'll square off in the fifth-place game against Ontario 2 at 2:30pm CT.

Nova Scotia, who needed a win against Alberta to advance to the quarterfinals, fell to the Albertans, so they'll be on the diamond at 8:30am CT against winless Saskatchewan in the ninth-place game. If Nova Scotia plays like they did against Alberta, there's no doubt in my mind that they'll likely win that early-morning game. They do need a few of the balls hit to the outfield to fall, though, so we'll see if they can come up big against the rectangular province tomorrow morning!

Overall, this was an incredible game of baseball that you should be watching. A number of the girls playing in Stonewall this week will be headed to Thunder Bay as part of Team Canada for the five-game Canada/USA Friendship Series from July 28 to August 1! I can honestly say that I'm pretty sure at least one or two women from the game I witnessed today will be there, and it's likely a number more from the other eight teams at the Invitational Tournament will be there as well! I highly recommend you get out and see these games if it's possible or tune in via a webstream if one is available. The baseball was amazing, and these women will wow you with their skills!

We know that Carly Jackson, Madison Willan, and Kaitlyn Ross are stars on the ice for their respective teams, but I can honestly say that these women are two-sport superstars based on the efforts they gave today. Well done, ladies, and count me in as a fan of each of you for your baseball talents as well!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!