Draper leads U17 Magic into provincials

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This article was published 14/07/2022 (1321 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a season of tremendous change, the under-17 Westman Magic squad have enjoyed an island of consistency at shortstop.

Natalie Draper, who turns 17 today, will lead the club into Softball Manitoba’s provincial championship starting Friday in Friedensfeld, which is just south of Steinbach.

“This team is pretty new,” Draper said. “Growing up, we always had the same group of girls and this year there are a lot of new faces. That’s been a challenge but also it’s really nice to play with new girls and get to learn and grow together.”

The team has faced an interesting season, in large part because their projected top two starting pitchers haven’t been available to them.

Danika Nell of Boissevain spent the summer playing with American teams and the provincial squad as she looks for a college scholarship and Madison McDonald elected to not continue playing.

“We’ve always had them and been able to rely on them,” Draper said. “Without having that, we’ve had to sharpen up some of our skills and hit the ball more and be cleaner in the field. It’s making us a better team but it does come with its challenges.”

Still, Nell was at practice on Tuesday and will be back at the most important juncture of the season.

“I’m glad to have her back here for provincials, finally,” Draper said with a laugh.

After a summer without their top two pitchers, head coach Faron Asham agreed there were positives that came from his players having to find their way without them.

“This team has been successful from Day 1,” Asham said. “They’ve always had Nell and McDonald on the mound and some hitters to back up the zeros that those two pitchers threw out. This has been a bit of an eye opener for them.

“We’ve made a goal of wanting to be a contender at a national championship, and when I came on board, we talked about some of the little things that they haven’t done in the past because they’ve had those arms on the mound. “Now that we don’t have them and we’re shooting for the Delta Heat and other teams we know are favourites at the national level, we need to do some of the little things right and we’ve had some ups and downs trying to learn the finer points of the game but I’m real optimistic it’s going to come together.”

On the mound, a pair of rookies have led the way this season. Asham said they have been solid but remain a work in progress at the U17 AAA level.

“Our pitching has been a little erratic, to be quite honest,” Asham said. “We’ve been running a couple of new players to the Magic program in Anna Forbes and Whitney Rozdeba and they’re still finding their groove here.

“Once they buy into that you can pitch to contact because there is good defence behind you at this level and first-pitch strike is most important, things will work out for them.”

As is usually the case with Magic teams, the squad features a blend of players from around Westman with Dani Black (Brandon) joined by Jessie Henry, Draper and Jordyn Bradbury (Virden), Mya Dueck and Nell (Boissevain), Brooklyn Franklin (Chater), Cassidy Dundas (Onanole), Kamryn Boden (Russell), Forbes (Glenboro) and Rozdeba (Hamiota).

Draper noticed issues earlier on as some of the rookies adapted to the ultra-competitive league.

“I think a lot of it is confidence,” Draper said. “At the start of the season, a lot of the girls were new and in the plate and even in the field, everyone was just a little shaky. We didn’t know exactly what we were doing. I feel like the confidence is growing at the plate a lot and we’re hitting the ball more.”

Westman sits fourth in the six-team league with a record of 9-7-1 but Asham said there is tremendous parity in the league, with is led by the Eastman Wildcats’ mark of 13-5-0.

“We’re kind of middle of the pack and everybody’s about .500,” Asham said. “It’s an old adage, but anybody can beat anybody on any given night this season. Hopefully we take control of things in Friedensfeld on the weekend and put our stamp on the game the way we want to and come out with one more in the end.”

While the results haven’t always been there this season, Asham is optimistic. He said the team has been very good at the plate this year, posting a league-high 153 runs.

“I like hitting so we can swing the bat,” Asham said. “I’m real excited to see when I can pencil in all nine starters when they’re here. That sure adds length to the lineup. There won’t be a team that outhits us, I know that.”

Just as importantly, the Magic are also solid at preventing the other team from scoring. Without their two veteran pitchers, they still allowed the third fewest runs with 110.

“Our team defence is solid,” Asham said. “We haven’t had a real chance yet just with other things that have been going on with our players but when you put it on paper with the stuff we’ve been working on individually, when we put it all together as a unit, team defence is going to be one of our strengths.”

That’s why it’s nice to have a reliable presence at shortstop. Nell will have a significant impact this weekend, but so will Draper.

She began playing with the Magic at the U14 level, and said every part of her game has improved, but she’s changed as a person too.

“I was very quiet and very timid when I started,” Draper said. “I think I’ve become a lot more confident and stronger.”

Draper said she and several of the returning veterans have taken on leadership roles as the newcomers became acclimated.

She played in Las Vegas and San Diego over the winter, allowing her to stay active in the game as she pursues her goal of earning a college scholarship. Asham said the Virden teenager has been a revelation, in large part due to her willingness to work hard and embrace the changes that can make her better.

“Her swing has been real strong and we’ve added a little bit of power to it,” Asham said. “She’s a bat-to-ball contact hitter but now that contact is finding gaps and the odd ones are hopping over the fence. She’s really brought her game defensively and we’ve done some stuff on footwork to make her an above average defender at the shortstop position, which is huge at this level.

“She’s a real pleasant upgrade at shortstop for us and hopefully that continues.”

If the Magic lose in Friedensfeld, their national championship hopes will also fade away. But Asham thinks the team has a legitimate hope of taking control on the weekend.

“A lot of things have to go right but we have to go in and throw strikes,” Asham said. “If we throw strikes consistently, we’re going to be real tough to beat. That’s not a sense of arrogance, that’s a fact.

“We need some timely hitting: We can’t sit back and wait for a three-run bomb, we’re going to start manufacturing some runs and taking extra bases and just being aggressive and putting pressure on the other team’s defence. They put it on ours and we’ll put it on theirs and we’ll see who has more runs in the end.”

And while it won’t be the battle-tested group that has played in provincials in the past, Draper is also optimistic.

“Of course we want to win,” Draper said. “This season has been a little rockier but hopefully it’s all going to come together this weekend and hopefully we’ll keep going.”

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