U11 Heat White brings energy to diamond

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This article was published 22/07/2024 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Westman Heat White head coach Heidi Figol doesn’t expect she’ll have to motivate her young team too much when the U11 AA provincials start at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex on Friday.

“We’re excited because we’re competitors and we have the team here that meshes well and we come excited,” Figol said. “We’re ready to rock when we come.”

The roster includes Brynn Keller, Hadlee Gagnon, Brooke Collins, Ellena Hermenegildo, Molly Roberts, Ruby Cummings-Ursel, Tenley Figol, Sofia Huntley, Paisley Haggarty, Surie Small, Taylor Larson and Leighton Cullen.

On the staff, Figol is joined by assistant coaches Jill Keller and Brett Figol, with Kristen Larson serving as manager.

The team was picked in May, with the Heat only allowed to practise on weekends until house league was over.

Although the girls don’t play together, Figol has been impressed by how quickly the girls have bonded.

“This team has been so great,” Figol said. “Our team dynamic is one of the best I’ve ever seen at this age. We’re lucky because everybody has energy, everybody is positive, everybody works together. We support each other and know how to pick each other up, and I feel like that is how we’re going to roll into provincials, with that high energy.”

There were seven teams in Softball Brandon’s U11 house league this season, and the Heat players were scattered among them.

There are usually three Westman teams at the AA level — the Southwest Storm operate south of the Trans-Canada Highway and the Westman Fury to the north — but there weren’t enough players for a Fury squad this year so a mix of North Westman and Brandon girls will be playing as Heat Yellow.

A fierce rivalry has already been established between the Storm and Heat White.

Heat White beat the Storm 11-6 in the showcase final to win gold after losing to them in the round-robin.

The Brandon club went 6-1 at the event.

They also lost to the Storm 2-0 during a recent exhibition game in Brandon.

There are some special rules in this age group. Runners can’t steal home, and pitchers are restricted to two innings. In addition, after a fourth ball, a coach comes in and soft tosses to the batter, who can’t advance past second base with their hit.

Figol has four main pitchers, Small, Huntley, Cummings-Ursel and Collins, and more arms available if needed.

“It 100 per cent can be a game changer, and it has a lot to do with that soft-toss rule,” Figol said. “If our pitchers are off, and they are given a soft toss, it’s almost a guaranteed runner on base. Being on as a pitcher in U11 matters.”

But so does playing defence, and that’s in an age group where mistakes are almost a given.

“We’ve been really strong,” Figol said. “Anybody can make an error, and it can be a game-changing error, especially with his group, but we were outstanding at showcase. I feel like that was partly due to why we came home with gold, but everything clicked. Our pitching clicked, our hitting clicked, our defence clicked. All around, they were strong.”

One thing that helps is their offence. The youngsters have been encouraged to be aggressive by Figol, a graduate of the Westman Magic program who played at Mayville State.

“Our hitting has been strong,” Figol said. “Going back to the showcase, we’ve had players who had key hits who’ve won us games. We’re aggressive at the plate and try not to sit back. My philosophy is that you’re going up there swinging and ready to hit and I’m trying to instil that in my players. If we can get on the bats, we’re going to be a competitive team.”

The Heat White are in Pool A in the nine-team event. They open on Friday against the Bonivital Bolts at 2:15 p.m., and face the Eastman Blaze at 4 p.m. On Saturday, they meet Heat Yellow at 9 a.m., and Central Charge at 12:30 p.m.

The big treat for the youngsters, who normally play at Steve Clark Field, is they will get a chance to move to the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex.

“We’re excited,” Figol said. “We love it. These are all awesome diamonds but it gives the girls that dream-type feel where they get to go and have the amazing complex.”

The top two teams in each pool advance, with the semifinals set for Sunday morning at 9. The losers meet in the bronze-medal game at 10:45 a.m., with the winners playing in the final at 12:30 p.m., as the U13 and U15 events run in tandem.

“We need to mesh well,” Figol said of the path to potential success. “To be a competitor against all these strong teams, you have to have everything clicking and connecting. Is your pitching on. Offensively, are we swinging the bat and getting on base? Defensively, are we making errors? You have to have a tight defence and be ready to battle at the plate.

“It can go either way, but it’s the team that is ready to show up with a positive attitude and that focus piece. What I’m proud of my team most for, and they’ve proven it, they come high energy and they stay high energy throughout the whole game. If we’re going to come with high energy, we have a chance of moving on to Sunday.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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