Westman trio join 14U Manitoba team

Three Westman players will be hoping to make an impact as Manitoba hosts the 14-and-under girls western Canadian baseball championships in Ile des Chenes next month.

Six Westman girls tried out for the team, with Andie Williamson of Reston, Abigail Sulik of Erickson and Kensley Wilson of Brandon earning spots.

The 14-year-old Sulik, a catcher and centrefielder, throws and hits from the right side.

“I was so excited,” Sulik said. “My parents were ‘You should really do this’ and I was ‘No, I can’t’ and then when my dad told me I made the team I was so excited.”

Wilson, 13, is also a right-throwing and hitting catcher and outfielder.

She played house league in Softball Brandon this summer but was in baseball with the boys in U9 and U11.

“It was really cool,” Wilson said of hearing the news she made the team. “My dad was really excited. He’s coached all my siblings through baseball too.”

The event is being held from Aug. 14 to 16.

The staff — head coach Darnell Nast, along with assistant coaches Ty Zebinski and Nast’s sister Stefanie Byron, who was part of Manitoba’s inaugural provincial team — had a record 36 girls try out for the 15 roster spots, including a good number of younger girls who could make more significant contributions next year when they’re a bit older.

“It was a very competitive 36,” Nast said. “It was nice to have a group to push forward. We’ll have maybe eight majors and eight minors for next year so it really helps transition the next team.”

Nast, who is from Ste. Agathe, is in his third year coaching the age group and his daughter Chloe.

He said a U12 girls’ baseball league in Winnipeg is helping bolster the tryouts, adding he expects it will do wonders for the program moving forward.

“What I’m starting to see is more baseball girls,” Nast said. “I think that goes back to the U12 girls league. You’re also being more girls playing baseball growing up. Softball, it’s tough, because at the early ages the competitiveness is not there so the girls who are really competitive go and play with the boys and then they fall in love with baseball.

“My daughter plays softball, and is one of those girls who plays AA, AAA softball and also plays baseball. It’s tough for us as a provincial team because we kind of have to work around those schedules, especially come westerns and nationals. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to field a team.”

He said six of the 15 players on the team are also in softball, including Williamson, who was competing with her AA softball team, the Westman Storm, and missed Saturday’s activities.

Williamson, 13, a right-throwing and hitting catcher, third baseman, second baseman and outfielder in both sports, played softball with the girls and baseball with the boys on Reston Rockets teams growing up.

This summer she played both.

“One of the differences is the way the ball comes in,” Williamson said. “Softball is more under and baseball is overtop and faster pitching for baseball.”

Her older brother Jamie also played on provincial baseball teams and served as captain of the Southwest Cougars U18 AAA hockey team.

In addition, her father Dallas is a longtime member of the senior Rockets team who served as South West Baseball League president a few years ago.

Along with hockey and rugby, she plays a lot of school sports.

“She’s a pretty versatile athlete,” Dallas Williamson said. “She works hard, she is very coachable. It’s very difficult going from softball to baseball pretty much every other night. For her to make the Manitoba team was a credit to her and her hard work and everything she’s done to get there.

“She has a lot of inspiration from her older brother and watching him play high-level hockey and then makes the Manitoba teams.”

Sulik also took up baseball because her older brother played. She switched to softball in her minor U13 year, and then jumped back into baseball, playing with the boys on the Minnedosa Bisons. She said her baseball teammates are fine because she grew up with them.

“Playing baseball, I just love the environment,” Sulik said. “People expect girls not to do baseball.”

The biggest difference between the sports may be at the plate. But Wilson, who also plays hockey and is in volleyball and track at school, said the different velocities can be adapted to fairly easily.

“I feel like I adjust pretty easily between the different speeds,” Wilson said. “When I’m at the plate, I don’t really think about that. I just watch the ball coming in.”

With a bit of a late spring, the provincial team did indoor workouts at Winnipeg’s Home Run Sports Training Centre and Brandon’s TC Indoor Sports Facility. They finalized the roster with a mini-tournament in Portage la Prairie.

Nast said all the Westman girls are new to the program, and he didn’t have a chance to watch them growing up. Still, all three earned their spots and have made an impression on him.

“Abigail is a gamer,” Nast said. “She’s attentive, she always listens. She doesn’t talk a lot, she’s always listening, which is great. She has a lot of potential.

“She fits in a lot of spots for me, she’s kind of been a utility for me. She’s been able to catch for us when our main catchers can’t be there and she has no problem stepping in. She’ll play outfield, a bit of second base. She’s been a nice fit.”

With Wilson, the first thing he noticed was her blazing speed, and then he realized she too was a Swiss army knife with lots of potential.

“Kensley, one thing that stood about her in tryouts is she’s fast,” Nast said. “She’s super fast. That’s one of the things we saw right away, we have a speedy outfielder on our hands here. The bonus is that she actually catches, so she does a little bit of everything.

“She’s another utility player. She’s 13, so she might have one more year with us. It will be a good transition year for her. Hopefully she comes back.”

With Williamson, Nast said she simply looked like a ball player. She is also a player who could grow into a larger role with the team in the future.

“The one thing I could tell about her mannerisms and the way she threw the ball is that her overall aura is baseball player,” Nast said. “I didn’t realize she was a softball player at all under her dad mentioned it to me.

“She’s younger and next year will be able to have a more significant role on the team. It’s nice having these kids come in and see the senior girls and the refinements they have and where they need to get to, to compete for those starting positions.”

She mostly plays left and right field, but can also line up at third and pitch.

The team had a pair of practices at Simplot Millennium Park on Saturday, a team meal, team activities and some free time for the girls to get to know each other. Then they played a boys team on Sunday.

They have one more workout this weekend and then it’s straight to westerns.

Manitoba has earned bronze once during Nast’s time with the team.

“I want to at least equal that,” Nast said. “Last year we had a good team but we had a young team. We only had three majors last year but we competed and were in every game. We were the only team that didn’t have a mercy game throughout the entire westerns.

“We didn’t win any but we were right there. That was what was fun about it. Ya, it sucks to lose but we were in every game so the girls’ spirits were still high.

“Coming into this year, now we have eight or nine majors and we have a team that can compete and hopefully get past Saskatchewan or Alberta or B.C., and get into that second-place or third-place medal. Our goal is to medal for sure.”

While they no doubt want to win, his players have their own reasons for being there.

“I’m excited to see some new teams, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C.,” Williamson said.

“I hope that everyone tries their hardest and we put in good work,” Wilson added. “It’s a good team so we get to bond.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com