Red-hot U13 Magic set for provincials

Heidi Figol can only hope the under-13 AAA provincials this weekend go as well as the regular season did for her young Westman Magic team.

The Magic ran the table, posting a flawless 24-0-0 record in Manitoba Premier Softball League action, and with some tough tournaments thrown in, sit at 35-7-1 overall.

As a result, when provincials open on Thursday morning, expectations will be high.

“We would love more than anything to remain number one throughout the whole weekend and finish that way,” Figol said. “Those are very big expectations because of the game of softball and how it can go, however, I feel like if we play our game and take one game at a time and stay disciplined at the plate, then I feel like that will allow us to be successful.”

The tournament opens on Thursday morning, with the Magic facing the sixth-place Manitoba Angels (8-15-0) at 11:30 a.m., and the seventh-place Smitty’s Terminators (3-20-0). That looks like a classic trap day, but Figol is confident her team will make an early statement.

“Our biggest focus is to win one game at a time and set that tone early,” Figol said. “Get on the bats right away, play some strong defence, come with a whole lot of energy.”

On Friday, they meet the third-place Winnipeg Lightning (12-11-1) at 1 p.m., and the second-place Eastman Wildcats (15-9-0).

On Saturday, they play fourth-place Central Energy (11-13-0) at 11 a.m., and fifth-place Interlake Phillies (9-14-1) at 3 p.m.

The playoffs are on Sunday.

The heat looks like it could be a factor again this weekend, with forecasts suggesting temperatures in the 30s for all four days.

“We always say it’s just as hot for the other team,” Figol said. “We have to focus on keeping ourselves hydrated and picking each other up. We’ve managed to play through the heat these last few weeks pretty well but that’s because of the team we are.”

The players include Brandonites Surie Small, Tenley Figol, Jaycee Hackywicz, Ellena Hermenegildo, Maci Watters, Ella Kyle, Brooke Collins and Taylor Larson, plus Kyree Hart, Ella Parrott, Hayley Fordyce of Boissevain and Emerson Anderson of the Rivers area.

It’s a group that’s proven to be proficient in every area.

Figol knew who the players were because she coached against them in AA in younger age groups, and thought she could push them a bit on their approaches at the plate.

That included fine-tuning their mechanics but also teaching them to have a smart approach and the pitches they should look for. The result is an offensive juggernaut that isn’t afraid to swing and put the ball in play.

“All winter long we practised that mentality of being aggressive at the plate and attacking the first pitch, knowing that’s more than likely going to be a strike,” Figol said. “With training through the winter and being able to work with them through the spring and the summer, it made them the batters they are today.”

That aggression carries through to the base paths, where they aren’t afraid to force the other teams to make some throws. In an age group where defensive play can be an adventure at times, it usually means a lot of stolen bases.

Figol and assistant coach Jaycee Small were also both aggressive base runners when they played.

“Being able to trust who you have on the base paths and what they’re capable of, we take full advantage of that,” Figol said. “We capitalize if the other team is throwing the ball around or just never being satisfied with one base, but always being smart about it.

“Can we take more? When can we take more? How can we move runners?”

While this age group can break a coach’s heart with their defence, Figol said they’ve actually played pretty well this summer. And since errors will happen, the coaching staff has zeroed in on getting their players to put their miscues behind them.

“We worked a lot of how to bounce back from an error,” Figol said. “If you make an error, you have to move on quickly, you have to forget about it.”

A major source of their success is their pitching staff, Anderson, Small and Fordyce. At that age group, pitchers are limited to three innings per game, so two of them have to throw, and the coaching staff has looked at the analytics to put them in a position to succeed.

“We feel like we’ve worked really hard with these girls to fill a role that is beneficial for the team, whether that’s starting or someone following another pitcher,” Figol said. “We’re very mindful of who we’re playing against and what’s been working well for each of our pitchers.”

The Magic played in three tournaments this summer, their hometown Wheat City Classic and events in Melfort and Mankato, Minn. They took silver in Melfort while seeing teams from other provinces but the American event was a tough one.

“Going to Mankato, even though we struggled to win down there, we also saw how fantastic their base running was, how crisp their defence was,” Figol said. “The things we were able to bring back from those tournaments and practise ourselves, that’s only going to make a player and a team better.

“As hard as it is to travel and lose some of those games, it shows the girls what they’re capable of doing.”

The top two teams represent Manitoba at the western Canadian championships from Aug. 6 to 9 in Balgonie, Sask.

The Magic have played against some of the squads that will be there from other provinces, so they have some idea of what to expect.

“Westerns is a huge goal for us,” Figol said. “We know we have the team that we can take there and also compete there.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com