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Melfort Spirit U19 softball team wins bronze at Westerns

MELFORT — The girls’ Melfort Spirit Midget softball team ended the long weekend with holding bronze at the Western Canadian Championship.
Melfort U19 Spirit
The Melfort U19 Spirit won bronze in the 2018 Western Canadian U19 Softball Championships in Unity. In the back, starting from left, are Coach Gerald Van Burgsteden, Coach Karissa Johnson, Brianna Paskell, Sam Choumont, Melissa Dmytrow, Emma Johnson, Darby Binkley, Etta Van Burgsteden and Coach Scott Yelle. In front are Meghan Smith, Brooklyn Yelle, Casey Pratchler, Libby Guy, Hannah Schuba, Brooke Melnychuk and Jae-Lynn Klamot. Submitted Photo

MELFORT — The girls’ Melfort Spirit Midget softball team ended the long weekend with holding bronze at the Western Canadian Championship.

Gerald Van Burgsteden, the team’s coach, couldn’t choose one Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the weekend, so he chose 13 out of the team of 13 girls.

“It’s something that a team in Melfort has not medaled in before, so it’s a big deal to just go to the Western Canadian Championship, but to actually be in the medals is just a great accomplishment for the girls,” Van Burgsteden said. “This was the best ball the girls played all season.”

The Western Canadian Championship involved the top two teams for every category in each province through Western Canada.

Saskatchewan, as the home province, got three teams. The Melfort Spirit Midget Softball team was one of them.

“It’s excited, they were very excited, and as coaches we are so proud of them,” Van Burgsteden said.

This isn’t the first time the team found themselves in the news, with the team making it to the Canada Cup Nationals in Surrey, B.C. The team made it to the consolation play-offs game before being defeated by the Langley Xtremes.