U15 Magic pitchers count on Banga

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This article was published 20/07/2022 (1363 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nobody has a more important job on the under-15 Westman Magic this season than Alexa Banga.

On a team led by its three sensational pitchers — Sally Leask, Naomi McKay and Presley Hodson — Banga is the team’s primary catcher.

It’s a great spot to be after she settled in.

“Honestly, it’s hard to get used to,” Banga said. “But once you catch so often for fast pitchers like Naomi and Sally, you get very used to, and personally I think it’s easier to catch the ball when it’s coming in faster so I quite enjoy it.”

Her work is certainly appreciated.

McKay, a product of Waywayseecappo, said it makes her job a lot easier.

“It’s really good just to have that sense of security, knowing that she’s there for me all the time,” McKay said. “If I do make a mistake, she’s always going to be there for me so it is nice to have her behind the plate.”

Unfortunately for McKay, an ACL injury has dramatically restricted her time on the diamond this season. She only started playing last weekend but is relieved to rejoin an outstanding pitching staff.

“It’s been a journey but I’m happy to be back and be back on the mound and be with everyone again,” McKay said. “Knowing Sally is there in case I need help is really great.”

Banga added it’s terrific to have McKay back in the lineup.

“It’s really nice,” Banga said. “We really missed her.”

The injury woes have become a familiar refrain for head coach Joel Charles and assistant coach Marc Lyver.

“We haven’t all 12 on the diamond at the same time so we’ve really struggled with some injuries,” Charles said. “But some players have stepped up and are playing positions they normally wouldn’t have played and some of our younger players have stepped up and carried some big innings on the mound and we’ve been getting some timely hits from those kids.

“In a round-about way, it’s unfortunate we’ve been battling injuries but it’s also been good for the organization’s development.”

There’s certainly no doubt the team’s fortunes rise and fall with its three aces, along with their fourth pitcher Kenzie Mcintyre, who has also delivered some outstanding performances this season.

The group has very good control, which helps cut down on passed balls.

“Our pitching has been really dominant,” Charles said. “They’ve carried us. In a (recent) 2-0 ballgame, we scored a couple of runs but our pitching held the game. We’ve been dominant on the mound, and this area has done a really good job of developing pitchers over the last three or four years, not necessarily in our age group, but in every age group we’ve had a dominant pitcher in the league and MVP-calibre pitchers throughout the organization.”

Charles, who also works alongside manager Lisa Solomon, acknowledges Banga is the perfect person to pull his outstanding staff together.

“She’s done a really good job,” Charles said. “When you have dominant pitchers like that and they’re throwing the ball, she’s giving them a good target and she’s giving them spots, and they’re hitting the spots. She’s done a really good job back there controlling the game for us.”

At the same time, the dominant pitching staff offers a degree of comfort to the position players that the team will always be in the game, even if the bats aren’t producing.

“It’s awesome,” Banga said. “It’s very comforting knowing that with our amazing pitchers we have a really good chance of winning every game. It’s reassuring.”

If the three legs of the softball stool are pitching, defence and hitting, the U15 Magic certainly have the first one covered. But if either of the other legs fail, the stool tips over.

Charles said the team’s defence and hitting are both works in progress.

“We’ve been getting a lot better defensively,” Charles said. “With the pitchers that we have, sometimes you can fall into a defensive lull and I’ve found that this year we’ve worked on it and they’ve practised very hard on improving on our defence and it’s come a long way in the past year and a half.

“We’re playing better defensively, and once we start hitting a little better, we can put together all three phases and win a lot more games.”

At the plate, Charles said his team is producing in what he calls “city driving,” hammering on the gas between lights and then stopping suddenly at lights. He said his hitters have to be more consistent.

“There are different speeds of pitching in the game and we’re a really good fastball-hitting team,” Charles said. “Sometimes when we have teams that throw a pitcher who can throw different speeds, it gives us a little bit of trouble. We have to get collectively better at that.”

The Westman-based club has just two Brandonites, Leask and Jada McMillan, with Virden (Kendall Charles, Banga and Hodson), Boissevain (Brooke Maxwell, Ally Neufeld), Killarney (Hilhorst, Kenzie McIntyre) Shoal Lake (Kylan Solomon), Waywayseecappo (McKay) and Wawanesa (Charlie Shearer) all contributing players.

It’s proven to be a talented cohort of young women, who despite their many hometowns have created a deep bond.

“It’s a great group of girls, super determined,” McKay said. “They stay focused and they’re ready to win and hungry to get better. Our bond is so close. This is a great year.”

Banga agreed.

“I think we’ve gotten a lot closer as a team this season,” Banga said. “We’re very determined and very hard working and put in a lot of effort on and off the diamond. We’ve trained very hard, and I think we’re a great group of girls. I love it.”

As it stands, the team is 32-7-3 this season, and since the AAA group came together three years ago, they are 92-12-3. Some of the girls have won four consecutive provincial championships.

“Working with them over the last three years, they come to play and they come to work,” Charles said. “It’s easy to coach and easy to implement things that we want to improve on when the girls are willing to work.

“And pitching has definitely been a strong point of ours, and sometimes our bats have carried us too. It’s almost scary to think if we could put three phases together.”

In a recent tournament in Mankato, the Magic were the only Canadian team to advance to the playoffs, where they fell in the semifinals.

Even so, Charles is wary heading into provincials, which will be held July 21 to 24 in La Salle, a short distance south of Winnipeg.

“Every dog has their day sometimes, so you have to come to the diamond prepared to play,” Charles said. “I think our goal going into provincials obviously is to come home victorious and if we don’t, we don’t. That’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes.”

That may be so, but McKay is setting her sights at provincials for a team that has done nothing but win in recent years.

“I’m hoping we can bring back gold for the fourth year in a row,” McKay said. “We’re going to try our best to get it.”

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