Port Alberni's U15B Blazers softball team picked up a bronze medal at their home tournament earlier this month.
The team hosted the inaugural Swing for the Summit fastpitch tournament over the weekend of June 6-8. In the finals, Lakehill won the gold medal, while Langford finished with silver.
The home team won bronze in a come-from-behind win against the Sooke Hustlers.
"We were down 5-1 at one point, and the final score was 9-8," explained Blazers coach James Brook.
"It was a huge battle, and a huge win for the girls."
Seven teams from across Vancouver Island participated in the tournament, at times playing through 30-plus degree weather.
Before the weekend, Brook says his team talked about playing consistent ball throughout the weekend. They went into the tournament shorthanded, with a couple of injured players and a few more unavailable for the first two days.
"We only had nine players through the first half of the round robin, but we had a few more return on Sunday," said Brook.
"And of course, they were battling through the heat. Keeping the energy up throughout the weekend was important."
Blazers Presley Towe, Sophie Kennedy and Natalie Dick each received game MVP awards over the weekend.
From a hosting perspective, the tournament went "really well," said Brook.
This is the first time the U15B team has hosted the Swing for the Summit tournament—previously, they shared their fastpitch tournament with the U17 team over Mother's Day weekend.
"We got a lot of comments on how well it was run," said Brook.
"And the support from the community was amazing. We appreciate Port Alberni coming out and supporting the team."
Players will now be taking some time to rest and relax between practices. Next up, they have the district playdowns on June 21, followed by provincials in Nanaimo in mid-July. The U15s host Oceanside on Saturday, June 14 for a best-of-three playdown.
