The village of Edam will be represented at Baseball Canada's 2014 16U Girls Canadian Invitational Championship this weekend in Saguenay, Que.
Raina Cole, 14, was selected to be a part of Team Saskatchewan after participating in Saskatchewan Baseball's tryout camp. She was one of 15 girls at her respective camp, with three being held in Saskatoon and one held in Lloydminster.
Cole, one of three 14-year-olds selected for the team, has been playing fastball for a while, but started playing baseball with the boys this season. The league she played in had three other teams, one each from Meadow Lake, Loon Lake and Turtleford. Everyone played each other twice with a year-end tournament. Her team was made up of three boys and girls from Edam and four boys and one girl from Glaslyn.
Since starting to play baseball, Cole says she enjoys playing first base the most because she is involved in nearly every play. She has also played shortstop, third base and pitched.
Cole also plays hockey and was invited to a University of Saskatchewan Huskies prospects camp during the summer of 2013. She was spotted by a coach at a tournament in Warman to earn the invitation that could eventually lead to a scholarship.
After being invited back to the camp this year, Cole decided to stick with baseball. She says she stuck to the diamond because her friends were playing baseball over the summer.
The 16U Girls Canadian Invitational Championship runs from Aug. 21 to 25. There are nine teams competing in the tournament, including Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and two teams from Quebec.
