With no tornado warnings to cramp their style, the boys from B.C. got down to business Friday morning on the softball diamond at the North American Indigenous Games in Regina.
Backed by a roster that includes eight Prince George players, the under-19 male squad stormed its way through to the gold medal final, defeating Ontario 6-3 in a semifinal game Friday morning.
The B.C. under-19 female softball team, which includes Sydney Caplette and Tanelle Smith of Prince George, also booked a spot in the gold medal game after defeating Ontario 10-8 in the semifinal round.
Tre Potskin belted a two-run home run to put B.C. up 2-1 in the third inning and Team B.C. never looked back. His Prince George cousin, Theo Potskin, hit 2-for-4, including an RBI single up the middle in the fifth inning which scored two more runs.
"We're excited, that was our whole goal to get to the gold medal game and now our goal is to win it," said B.C. second baseman Nicholas Potskin, who had one hit Friday. "I'm expecting a lot of fans for the final. we just have to stay calm and hit the ball into play. We've been consistent all tournament, making contact with the ball. Most of our team has been hitting the ball, and if they get out it's because they hit it to a player."
Making his fourth start in five games at the tournament, B.C. pitcher Joshua Anderson went the distance, limiting Ontario to three runs.
"We played good enough to win but we can play better," said B.C. coach Chad Ghostkeeper. "We left at least a dozen runners on bases and just didn't get hits at the right time. Our pitcher kept the ball in the park, with lots of ground balls and good defence."
On a blustery day, two of the B.C. runs, in the seventh inning, came as a result of passed balls.
The U-19 male team lost its final round-robin game Thursday afternoon 7-5 to Nova Scotia in a rain-shortened game called in the bottom of the seventh inning. Trent Seymour of Prince George took the loss for B.C. in his first game of the tournament as pitcher. The skies blackened over Regina and the teams were confined to their hotel shelters for an a hour-and-a-half while they waited out the fierce lightning and rain storm.
"I actually wanted to see a tornado, but it was also kind of scary at the same time," said Nicholas Potskin. "When I first came down here I had no idea what to expect and it's turned out quite amazing with how they set up the Games with the opening ceremonies and all that."
Also on the B.C. team are Prince George players Tyson Ghostkeeper, Lane Desjarlais,and Shelby Tom. The roster also includes Clarke and Jordon Ohman, both of Vancouver and Zack Gottfriedson of Kamloops. With just 11 players, Team B.C. has been fortunate not to run into any injuries.
They'll face Saskatchewn in this morning's final. Saskatchewan defeated Nova Scotia 5-4 in the other semifinal. The Saskatchewan team has four quality pitchers and boasts at least four players who weigh 200 pounds or more and stand at least six feet.
"They're much bigger than we are but I think we have a quicker team," said Nicholas Potskin.
Coach Randy Potskin says his players don't know what they're in for yet, but once they see the crowd gathered today at Kaplan Field they'll know people are interested in watching them battle the host team for gold.
'None of our games have been [webcast] and we've played in the mornings or late at night, but now they're in the final against the host team and I'm expecting a big crowd for the final," said coach Potskin. "They're moving it to a stadium where there's more seating."
In the U-19 girls playoff, Smith got B.C. started with a leadoff single and later scored in a three-run first inning. With two out in the second inning, Smith singled and later scored on a fielder's choice. Caplette started as the designated player and was later replaced after going without a hit. B.C. added one run in the fifth and two in each of the sixth and seventh innings to complete the scoring.
B.C. will play for gold today against Wisconsin, 7-4 winners over New York in the other semifinal game. B.C. defeated Wisconsin 16-12 in their opening round-robin game Wednesday, and also beat Nova Scotia 17-0 and Saskatchewan 8-4.
Both gold medal games will be broadcast today on national TV live on the Games website -- www2.myaccess.ca/naig. The U-19 women's game starts at 8 a.m., followed by the U-19 men's game at 10:30 a.m.
After going 3-1 in the round-robin, Kendra Potskin, 14, and her B.C. under-16 volleyball teammates lost 2-0 (25-21, 25-16) in a playoff against Alberta Friday afternoon and were eliminated from medal contenction.
Brandin Daychief, 17, of Prince George helped Team B.C. to a fifth-place finish in the under-19 lacrosse tournament in Regina. B.C., which went 2-2 in round-robin play, defeated Manitoba 9-5 Friday to claim fifth spot. Daychief also plays senior lacrosse in Prince George for the Westwood Pub Devils, who are one win way from clinching the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association playoff championship in a best-of-seven series against the Northland Nissan Assault.
