Ruby Anderson, already on the national team and projected to be pitching for sa国际传媒 if women’s softball is included for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, will lead the Langford Lightning into the national U-19 championship tournament beginning today at Centennial Park in Langford.
“Ruby has definitely learned new techniques being with the national team,” said Lightning head coach Chad Bryden.
Anderson is committed to Fresno State and among a trio of Lightning players headed to play in NCAA Div. 1 next month, including second-base Taitumn Reynen to Utah State and shortstop Peyton Bryden to Winthrop. As well, Brynn Fortier and Marin Jorgenson are headed to the UBC Thunderbirds, Kamryn Allin to UBC-Okanagan and Kaela Gillis to Weatherford College in Texas.
They are among the group that paced the Lightning to the Canadian U-17 title last year as Anderson, who hails from Saanichton, threw three no-hitters and was named tournament MVP. Even though Langford in now in the lower age bracket of the two-year U-19 category, it is considered among the favourites this week at nationals. It doesn’t hurt having Anderson’s arm of fury on your side.
“We definitely have a chance,” said bench-boss Bryden.
“We have shown an ability to move players on the university and college level. It’s a cliché, but it comes down to pitching, hitting and defence, and we all three.”
Not to mention that invaluable experience of having won the U-17 national championship last year.
“We learned a lot from that about what it takes,” said Bryden.
Key to Langford’s success this season has been the pitching of Kaliyah St. Amand, who stepped into the breach to throw when Anderson was away with the national team and when Fortier was down with injury. All three are ready to go this week for the Lightning.
The 16 best U-19 teams from across the country have gathered with the round-robin action running from 8:30 a.m. through the final games at 8:30 p.m. from today through Friday on two diamonds at Centennial Park. The playoff round begins Saturday through to the national championship game at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The sa国际传媒 teams are the provincial-champion White Rock Renegades ’05, provincial runner-up Fraser Valley Fusion ’04, the provincial bronze-medallist Lightning, Renegades ’04 and Victoria Glory.
The Glory are coached by Allie Pellizzaro and Emily Aspden and mentored by Rocky Vitale and 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze-medallist Emma Entzminger. The Glory are led on the diamond by a trio of players committed to North Platte Community College in Nebraska — catcher and third-base Maddie Kulmala, second-base Tayler Milliken and outfielder Presley Mace.
“We have gone through intense training and have a team that fears nothing and is not afraid to do things,” said Kulmala, who also captained the Spectrum volleyball team and played centre on the school’s basketball team.
Kulmala is hitting .362 and pointed to Pellizzaro, Aspden and Entzminger as being critical to her development as a player and person: “Softball is a sisterhood and it’s inspiring and empowering to look up to strong women.”
DIAMOND DUST: The Victoria Panthers awakened the echoes of past Island softball glory by taking the silver medal at the sa国际传媒 women’s A championship, the highest level for female club play in the province. The Panthers, coached by Johann Cherry and Pat Guiney, were led by former NCAA Div. 1 Utah State and Canadian national team player Sarah Chow and former NCAA Div. 1 players Jordyn Ages out of Florida International University and Ellie Vance out of Stephen F. Austin. The Panthers ripped through the Victoria-Saanich Women’s Softball Association at Hyacinth Park at 23-0-1 and through the sa国际传媒 tournament before losing 4-3 to the Surrey Storm in the championship game.
“It has been quite a few years since an Island team has had this kind of success at the women’s A level,” said Cherry. “The majority of the young women on the team grew up playing for Langford Fastball and the Victoria Devils.”
Meanwhile, Jessica Slater and Lily Chang are on Team sa国际传媒 in baseball, not as reported in a recent story.
