Fastpitch fans welcome Canada’s top female players

Fans of fastpitch in Whitehorse were treated to a week of high-caliber ball this week.

Fans of fastpitch in Whitehorse were treated to a week of high-caliber ball this week.

The final selection camp for the Softball Canada Senior Women’s National Team took place at the Pepsi Softball Centre from June 30 to July 5.

The camp was a mix of training sessions open to the public and six intersquad games between Red and White.

“White had a tough week,” head coach Mark Smith said following Game 6 last night.

Red won the first two games 3-2 and 2-0 before tying Game 3 5-5. Their domination continued over Games 4 and 5 with 3-1 and 4-3 wins.

In Game 6, Jesslyn Hodge stepped up to the plate to turn the tide for White.

She was down two strikes after fouling off a bunt and swinging and missing a rise ball.

Then, crack! Three-run shot in the sixth to take the final game 3-0.

“She threw me a couple balls and I kind of thought she was going to come back with a rise ball, so I just tried to stay on top of it,” said Hodge, who plays short stop for the University of British Columbia but switched to left field for the selection camp.

She nearly ended the game with a diving catch in the seventh but the foul ball landed just beyond her outstretched glove.

“I’d probably say I’m more of a defensive player. I had a lot of help from the coaches making this switch; different throw, different movement to the ball. I’m still cringing; I should have had that one on the side there. But luckily she hit an easy one to catch in the end.”

Hodge also plays for the White Rock Renegades Girls Fastpitch Club based in Surrey, B.C.

She narrowly missed making Softball Canada’s senior team last year after being cut at the final stage.

She figured she’d give it another shot.

“Every time I come to these, it’s not only an elimination camp or a selection camp, it’s also kind of a learning camp,” Hodge said.

“It’s not just playing ball, they do a lot of technical work with you and give you a lot of pointers. So every time, I kind of write down what they give me and try to work
that into my upcoming college season.

“Every time you come here, even if you don’t make it, you still become a better ball player, which ultimately is your goal.”

Another goal was simply to see Whitehorse, she said.

“I just heard about these fields up here recently and they’re great. They’re in perfect condition. It was great coming up here.

“It’s a change with the lights; we’re still getting used to it with all the light up here. I don’t know when else I would have come up here, and so it was great to get over here and play with these girls and awesome to see the fan support. It lived up to being exactly what I thought it would be.”

Woman’s national team head coach Mark Smith called Whitehorse’s embrace “phenomenal”.

He cited the team’s experience in the Yukon last summer playing a six-game exhibition series against Team USA.

Whitehorse will also be the site of the 2012 ISF XIII Women’s World FastPitch Championships next summer.

Playing on the same diamond in the same light will provide the Canadians with the advantage for that competition, Smith said.

“To be in the park, to know how the wind carries, to know the texture of the diamond, to have a sense of proximity to the hotel – all of those kinds of things, especially where we don’t deal with lights here – (are advantageous),” Smith said.

“In every other venue we go to, by eight or nine o’clock at night the lights are on, you have to get used to that. Here, we’re not going to have to deal with that; but the sun is still going to set, we’re still going to have to be concerned about sight lines, when the sun is out being able to make sure athletes are still going to be able to see balls in the air. So I think it gives us a decided advantage and a decided comfort level in knowing exactly what to expect.”

Smith added there were “not really” any major surprises in terms of the upcoming selection.

“All of these girls are good athletes, they’re all good ball players, they’re stars on their individual club teams and university programs they play with – they’re here because we know they can play the game. The challenge for us as a staff is there’s only 14 spots and we’ve got to select that from 26.”

There are six junior national athletes on the junior national team at the selection camp who will head to Cape Town, South Africa, to play in the World Championships in December.

For those six, the selection camp was a gauge to see how close they were to making the jump to the senior level next year.

“It’s accomplished everything we hoped it would. The weather has been great, the hospitality has been great, and now as a coaching staff we’ve got some tough decisions to make, but that kind of goes with the territory.”

George Arcand, Softball Yukon executive director, said the Pepsi Centre was abuzz with energy for the games and training sessions.

“The experience of having them here is awesome. They’re Canada’s team, they’re our team for next year, this is their home park for next year for the world championships. To have them here to show people their talent and to get a chance to meet them is awesome,” Arcand said.

“As you can see from the crowd that was here tonight, there was a tremendous amount of people that have played fast pitch and watched fast pitch over the years, have been coming out to practices, to every game, so there’s a buzz about the game and a buzz about next year.

“We saw it last year with Canada versus the U.S., and the caliber here is great. We were a bronze-medal team last time, and I would expect we’ll be right up at the top again, so it’ll all be good.”

Smith said Arcand and company’s hospitality was “over the top.”

“His staff have been phenomenal here, the bus drivers have been great to work with; downtown any of the restaurants and stores we’ve gone into people have recognized who the girls are and made conversation welcoming them to Whitehorse, so it’s been a great experience.”