UPDATE: August 8th, 2022, 6:30 am

The Unity Panthers U19 softball team and Delisle Pride U23 fastpitch team are each returning home from big tournaments. Each local team competing at their respective tournaments this past weekend were able to take home bronze.

First off, the Unity Panthers had a great start to their tournament on Thursday. The great start detailed below didn't follow through on Friday as the team was forced into a must win situation multiple times the next day, winning out to get themselves into the medal rounds and secure a bronze medal at Westerns out in Richmond, BC.

Looking at the Delisle Pride, a great team effort in a 10-3 final against Newfoundland was just one key win as the team advanced onto Sunday as one of the final three teams remaining. The team was forced to deal with even more adversity attempting to make it to the finals, entering a rain delay tied 3-3 at the top of the third against a very impressive Owen Sound Selects team. They would end up dropping that game 5-4, to put an end to a great week of ball out in Carp, Ontario. It's also noted that 10 of those players are sticking around in Ontario to play at the Canada Summer Games currently going on in Niagara.

Expect follow-up stories with each team later this week.

UPDATE: August 5th, 2022, 6:30 am

Each of the Delisle Pride men's and Unity Panthers women's softball teams saw some hot bats yesterday at their respective tournaments.

The Panthers won their first game 6-4 against the Manitoba Thunder in the tournament opener, and then following the opening ceremonies, they took to the field against the Cloverdale Fury to the tune of a 14-6 win to move their record to 2-0. Then in the third and final game of the opening day against the Elnora Eagles, the bats fell asleep and a 7-1 defeat stopped Unity from going undefeated at the first day of Westerns in Richmond, BC.

Check out their complete schedule and list of opponents below:

Unity Panthers scheduleDocument via rgsa.ca/western

Also below is the latest update from the Delisle Pride out in Ontario:

West Central Online will have more with the teams next week.

ORIGINAL: August 4th, 2022

Each of the Delisle Pride men's softball and the Unity Panthers women's softball teams are currently competing for a championship in Ontario, and British Columbia respectively. The Unity girls are off to an early start today with their opener in one of the tournament's first games, while the boys out of Delisle have been going through some interesting circumstances to start theirs.

The Pride wrapped up their Saskatoon Amateur Softball Association season back at the end of July as they prepared for the 2022 U23 Mens Canadian Fast Pitch Championship currently going on in Carp, Ontario.

Joining the representatives from several other provinces at the start of the week, the Pride unfortunately got off to a very tough beginning to their tournament through no fault of their own, as a delivery issue to Ontario led to the team not even being able to have their own bats to open up play.

Despite the adversity the Pride would go 1-1 on the opening day with four replacement bats, that 50% of broke, as they went back to the drawing board to find their equipment alongside competing for a national title. Still no word came in, and their record dropped to 1-3 following yesterday's action. 

Ahead of today's big day at the ballpark, the team got their bag back:

They will look to use that as a spark, and as for the Unity Panthers on the other hand, they are at Westerns in Richmond, BC, where they get underway today as part of the tournament's first game. Unity is the lone team from Saskatchewan at the tournament after they won the opportunity to make the trip by beating North Battleford in a 5 game series.

They will be competing against the host Richmond Islanders, along with the Ridge Meadows Rage and Cloverdale Fury each out of BC.      The Manitoba Willies and Manitoba Thunder make up that provinces qualifiers, while the Elnora Eagles and Blackfalds Extreme represent Alberta.            

Expect a check in with the Delisle Pride after their eventful week in Ontario, and also with Unity Panthers coaches Doug Rutley and Denelle L'Heureux as they work through their tournament beginning today out in BC.