FALL RIVER: Four players from the LWF Baseball Association and three coaches/manager are part of the gold medal-winning N.S. U-14 girls team that captured the Atlantic title on the weekend in Moncton, N.B.
Olivia Warford; Iris Long; Addison Lee; and Breanna Kuehner were the rostered players that featured girls from Yarmouth, HRM, Oxford to Sydney.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Kuehner (team manager), Adam Long, and Dean Lee of Beaver Bank were among the coaching staff. Lee, a former VP at Harold T. Barrett Junior High, was the team’s head coach.
Lee said the staff are extremely proud of the hard work, dedication, and commitment that all of the players showed throughout the summer.
“They consistently showed up to practice and strived to get one percent better each time that they were at the field,” said Lee. “They were committed to their development and the quest to win an Atlantic Championship for Baseball Nova Scotia.
“We believed from the beginning that this team was going to do something special together. The smile on their faces when the vision became a reality is something that we will remember forever.”
N.S. went undefeated in the tournament in all five games, winning gold in the final over PEI 3-0 behind the 12-strikeout, no hitter from pitchers Mikael Fields and Harley Foubert.
Fields, from the Hants North area, mowed down 10 batters over five innings, while Foubert threw two innings in relief, striking out two.
Foubert, of Hammonds Plains, and Halifax’s Gracie Downing each had home runs in the final round-robin game.
“The support that we received from across the province was encouraging and motivated the team knowing that so many were along with them on the journey,” said Lee. “The results on the field reflected the hours that the team put into their development each and every practice. It goes to show what is possible in life when you have a clear goal in your mind and are committed to putting in the work to achieve it.
“Many friendships and memories were formed both on and off the field that will last a lifetime. It is our hope that our success as a team will help grow the game and hopefully inspire other girls to play baseball across the province.”
Olivia Warford pitched a stellar inning after coming in with the bases loaded, getting N.S. out of trouble and still in the lead.
Game MVP’s during the tournament were: Harley Foubert; Mikael Fields (twice); Olivia Warford; and Eleyna Brooks.
Tournament MVP’s from Team NS: Hitting, Mikael Fields; Fielding, Harley Foubert.
Lee said the team’s success at Atlantics could be attributed to the unselfish attitude and mental preparation of each team member.
“Positive self talk and mindfulness enabled players to envision situations that they could potentially encounter and determine how they will responded when they arise,” he said. “The players believed in each other and were invested in the process of improving one percent each time that they were together. They played for each other more than they played for themselves.
“The team didn’t enter the tournament with the idea of being perfect or going undefeated. We went into the Atlantic Championship with the mindset of competing inning by inning, pitch by pitch, and at bat by at bat.”
