Tec Drywall scores 14 runs to win softball tournament

Stellar offense and timely defence was all Tec Drywall needed in its decisive 14-7 victory over the Kubota Hoes in the Division #4 championship game on Sunday.

Stellar offense and timely defence was all Tec Drywall needed in its decisive 14-7 victory over the Kubota Hoes in the Division #4 championship game on Sunday.

What makes Tec Drywalls tournament victory even more impressive was the fact that the team had to beat Kubota, who were undefeated coming into Sunday, back-to-back, in order to capture the championship.

“This was something and to beat them twice in a row was really nice, but they are a really good team, so it was quite the challenge,” said Billie Siver, the team’s coach and second base player.

“It feels great. I am just pumped for the rest of the year now and I am sure everybody else is.”

Tec Drywall’s first win over Kubota on Sunday was a 13-12 nail bitter, played earlier on Sunday before the 3 p.m. game.

The tournament was the first major of 2008 in the Whitehorse Co-ed Softball League. It started on Friday and featured 29 teams in total, who played in four separate divisions.

Teams had to lose twice before they were officially eliminated from the competition.

Warm weather and sunny skies highlighted the playing conditions on the final day of tournament play.

A cool breeze also made it more comfortable for both players and spectators alike.

Tec Drywall got off to the right on the right foot, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning.

The team followed up its great play by shutting down Kubota in the bottom half of the inning.

Kubota got into a little trouble to begin the second inning, loading up the bases with no outs.

However, after walking in Tec Drywall’s third run of the game, Kubota settled down and showcased their defensive skills.

The team recorded its first out of the second inning on a shallow fly out to right field, which held all of the runners at bay, while the second out was registered after the third baseman caught a popup in foul territory.

The final out came as the result of perfect positioning from the team’s centre fielder, who made a great catch on a deep fly ball that could have easily cleared the bases if not caught.

With the score 3-0 in the top of the third, Tec Drywall broke it open.

The team were able to capitalize on another bases loaded opportunity, scoring three runs as a result of timely hits before the conclusion of the top half of the third inning.

They led 6-0 going into the bottom of the inning.

Kubota broke its goose egg in the bottom of the third by cashing in a couple runs of its own.

The team began the inning with two hits and had players on the corners with nobody out when the third straight hit of the inning made the score 7-1. Kubota scored two more runs before a liner to first base was caught to end the inning. 

After limiting Tec Drywall to just one run in the top of the fourth, Kubota had its best inning of the game.

The team managed to load the bases with just one out and didn’t let up, scoring four runs in total to incredibly tie the game going into the fifth inning.

The players on Tec Drywall showed their resiliency and didn’t waste any time taking back the lead the following inning.

With runners on second and third base, Tec Drywall began the onslaught scoring their eighth run of the contest.

A shot between second and first made the score 9-7. After the team loaded up the bases, they were able to drive in two more runs for its first four-run inning of the contest.

With the score still remaining 11-7, both teams were shutout in the sixth inning.

In the seventh inning, Tec Drywall added three more runs for some additional insurance and were able to get three quick outs in bottom half to end the game.

The victory was particularly special for Siver, who has been a player for five years in the league and has been a coach for three.

Before Sunday’s contest she had never been a part of a team who was able to reach the final of any tournament in the co-ed league.

She said the team’s expectations this weekend involved just hoping to make the final.

“I didn’t know if we would, but I thought we had a pretty good chance because we have been doing really good this year,” she said.

“I think we have had only one loss in all of our regular co-ed games. We used to play on a different team and this year we are a new team and we went from being in the bottom five to being number one in the top, so this is a really great year for us.”

Siver said she credits the team’s success to the attitudes and determination of the players.

“We have a lot of really good players,” she said.

“We have a lot of guys and they are all willing to sub. They are really supportive and our girls are gung-ho, so we are doing pretty good. We are all trying and honestly we are just here to have fun.”