The repeat is sweet for the South Surrey/White Rock Thunder.
Just before the skies opened up with a torrential rain shower Sunday evening at Freeman Park, the Thunder rolled to a 9-3 win over the South Delta Invaders '99 squad to clinch their second-straight under-16 bantam B girls provincial championship.
Leading by a run in bottom of the third inning, the Thunder started getting their bats on the pitches of Danica McCormack, pounding out a series of singles to take a 5-0 lead. Hayley Miller's RBI blast was followed by a one-out poke to right field from Christian Pillkahn that brought in two more runs and leadoff hitter Anna Saunders followed suit with another hit that scored Miller.
The Invaders put together a brief rally in the fifth inning which started with an error to second baseman Pillkahn that left Brynn Johnstone on first base. Taylor Archibald's long ball dropped out of the glove of centrefielder Jessica Podskalny , allowing South Delta's second run, and Mandi Richie's bloop single over the head of pitcher Michaela Epp brought home Johnstone to make it a 5-3 game.
But the Thunder added four runs in the sixth inning and Epp's pitches in the seventh inning stymied the Invader offence and kept the ball for leaving the infield.
The South Delta '99s had to play an extra game to make it to the final of the 18-team tournament. While the Thunder rested, the Invaders were taking on the 1998-born South Delta Invaders team in a semifinal game right before the final. They defeated their year-older counterparts 14-0.
