UBC Okanagan Heat is the 2023 WCSA Champion! In the final game, UBCO defeated the Calgary Dinos 6 to 1 backed by strong pitching from Mikhaela Muir and 11 total hits.
In the semi-finals, UBCO and Lethbridge played a nail-bitter with UBCO winning 10 to 9 in an extra 8th inning. Lethbridge was up 9 to 6 starting the bottom of the 7th. Lethbridge played UBCO tough all year and almost came away with a major victory. In the second semi-final, Calgary came out swinging early with 12 runs in the first inning with home runs by Hayley Reid, Chloe Maher, and Gabby Coderre on route to a 17 to 7 victory over Victoria.
The 5th-6th game was a battle of Saskatchewan won by Saskatchewan defeating Regina 14 – 10. This game featured plenty of offense with 26 total hits led by Makenna Pilbeam’s 2 home runs and 6 RBI. Mount Royal and SAIT had another close game in their budding rivalry finishing with a 8 – 7 score for MRU. All-star Emma Dousett continued her excellent hitting season with 2 hits and 3 RBI.
The teams battled the cold and a steady rain all day on round robin Saturday. In Pool A, UBCO finished 3-0 followed by Victoria (2-1), Regina (1-2), and SAIT (0-3). There were some very close games. UBCO squeaked by Regina 7 to 6 despite home runs by Brooke Bentz and Mackenzie Roach including one towering shot that cleared the outer fence. Mallory Sader went deep for UBCO. Victoria edged Regina 9 – 8 by scoring 6 runs in the 5th inning led by Sophi Hepner.
Calgary emerged undefeated in Pool B with a 3-0 record with a close 9 to 8 victory over 2nd place Lethbridge (2-1). Lethbridge had an excellent weekend and placed itself among the top teams. Saskatchewan (1-2) lost a tough opening game to Lethbridge 6 to 3 backed by an excellent pitching performance by Ainsley Olson with 8 strikeouts. Saskatchewan and Mount Royal put on an offensive display in an 17 to 7 score. Mount Royal battled hard but finished 0-3.
Individual player highlights included Mikhaela Muir (UBCO) with 4 wins and a 1.98 ERA and Mia Pielak (Calgary) with 2 wins and a 1.91 ERA. There were lots of big hitters with Gabby Coderre (Calgary) and Makenna Pilbeam (Saskatchewan) both with 3 home runs. Alex Buckham (Victoria) led the tournament with a 0.727 batting average following by Megan Hunter (Lethbridge) (0.625), Makenna Pilbeam (Saskatchewan) (0.615), Chelsea Mosher (UBCO) (0.600). and Gabby Coderre (Calgary) (0.563).
Congratulations to the Calgary Dinos and UBCO Heat for qualifying for Nationals for 2024! Calgary and UBCO will join host team Victoria for the 2023 CCSA National Championship on Thanksgiving weekend from Oct 5 to 9.
Final Playoff Standings:
- UBC Okanagan – Gold medal
- University of Calgary – Silver medal
- University of Victoria – Bronze medal
- University of Lethbridge
- University of Saskatchewan
- University of Regina
- Mount Royal University
- SAIT
