Manitoba girls baseball takes silver

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This article was published 03/10/2016 (3598 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been a good last season for Emma Anton, outfielder for the Manitoba girls U16 baseball team.

The 16-year-old has spent four years with the group, which won silver at the national championships in Vaughan, Ont., in August. Anton said it’s the farthest they’ve gotten since she joined the team.

After winning a tight game with 6-5 against B.C., the Manitoba team went on to play Ontario in the final, losing 11-1.

“We were really close in our game that (determined) whether we got to go for gold or if we were just going to be playing for third,” Anton said.

“It was 5-5 in the seventh inning. Then we got a runner on base and then a girl hit home so we only by one point. It was close.”

The final against Ontario posed a few challenges for Anton, who knew she was the team’s last line of defence in the outfield.

“The wind was up so we definitely had to read the ball carefully and then we had the lights on, so there was a lot of shadow.”

She said the challenges of the position are what she loves about it. Those challenges are what have kept her in the outfield for four years.

“It’s a lot more pop flies and running for the ball and when you’re playing infield, you have somebody who can back you up but if you’re outfield, you have to make the play, so it’s really challenging.”

She said the girls had a strong season overall, thanks to their camaraderie and optimistic spirit.

“We were a really close group,” Anton said. “When we made mistakes we never got down on each other, we always picked each other up. We had great pitching, and really good defence. some of us have been playing, this would be our second year and others have been playing three, four years.”

Anton recently began Grade 11 at Oak Park and plans to play on the school’s baseball team next spring.

After U16, the next level at which Anton can play is U21 but there is no provincial U21 team in Manitoba.  She hopes one will be  established.