The Unity-Kindersley Royals U21 Junior B Softball team took home 1st place at the Provincials tournament in Saskatoon this past weekend.

After finishing in a three-way tie for first place and being placed in the third spot between the 3 top teams, the Royals played three games back-to-back.

They started the knockout phase with a 9-5 win over Moose Creek in their first game, and defeated Saskatoon 1-0 to book their spot in the final.

The ladies capped off their tournament with a close 5-4 win over Early Grey to take the title.

"They were all tight games and the girls played really well," said Don Robertson, one of the coaches for the UK Royals. "A few bumps and bruises. But they will be healed by Westerns."

Unity will be hosting the U21 Western Canadian Softball Championship during the August long weekend (Friday, July 29th to Monday, August 1st). It is sure to be a very competitive tournament such as Provincials for the Royals. But, the team are ready to step up for the challenge.

"We won it last year, and we know we're going to be the team to beat," said Kori Herner, catcher for the UK Royals. "Everyone's going to want to beat us so we have to be ready to play."

The tournament will host a number of teams from the prairie provinces including one from Manitoba and two from Alberta. Everything kicks off with round robin play on the 29th along with opening ceremonies.