The White Rock Renegades will be well represented at Canadian fastpitch championships next month, after four teams qualified for nationals in the last two weeks.
Last weekend at Softball City, the organization’s senior ‘A’ squad won its fourth consecutive provincial title, winning the championship game 9-0 over the Delta Heat Sunday.
The Senior Renegades now prepare for nationals – they’re the defending national champions – Aug. 3-7 in Montreal.
And in Richmond, the Renegades ’95 were runners-up at B.C. bantam championships and, last weekend in the same city, the Renegades ’97 finished second in peewee provincials – losing the final in extra innings. Both clubs advance to nationals.
And while they don’t have a national showdown in the squirt division, the Renegades fared well at those provincials, too, with Ted Birdsall’s squad of 11-year-olds finishing in first place; the Renegades’ 10-year-old team finished just off the podium, in fourth, which Renegades president Gregg Timm called “quite amazing.”
“They’re first-year players, so this certainly bodes well for them down the road,” Timm said of the team, coached by Renegades alum Natasha Dypchey.
Last year, the Renegades had perhaps its most successful season in the association’s history, with teams capturing a total of four provincial titles and two national crowns. And while those numbers are hard to beat, Timm was thrilled with the Renegades’ performances over the last few weeks.
“Maybe not quite as good as last year – that was just a fantastic year for us – but it’s still very good,” he said. “We have some depth and some good strength in our association, so when you have a strong year one year, it usually continues.”
He gave much of the credit for the program’s success to its stable of coaches, many of whom no longer even have daughters playing.
“For an amateur association, we have a very stable coaching situation, and that usually leads to some pretty good success,” Timm said.
The B.C. Midget Girls Fastpitch Championships were also held last weekend at Softball City, with Surrey Storm ’93 taking the title, with a 4-0 win over the Victoria Devils ’94.
The two Renegade entries – the 1993- and ’94-born clubs – finished in the top eight.