CFB Halifax Mariners win gold at CAF Slo-Pitch Nationals
By Ryan Melanson,
Trident Staff
CFB Halifax continues to rack up sporting wins through the 2018 season, and have recently added Slo-Pitch softball to the list of national gold medals for this year. The CFB Halifax Men’s Mariners team were victorious at the recent CAF National Slo-Pitch Championships, held from August 26-29 at CFB Borden.
Up against teams from representing Esquimalt, Petawawa, and Ottawa, the Mariners’ strong offense carried them through the tournament undefeated, including multiple games that saw the team score 20+ runs.
In the finals, Halifax was up against Petawawa, and once again relied on crushing offense to bring the championship trophy home. A 2-run home run and a collection of doubles helped them to an early 6-0 lead after the first inning, and while Petawawa was able to answer with four runs of their own early on, they couldn’t keep up through seven innings, leading to a final score 25-8 for Halifax. MCpl Darren Bell of JPSU Halifax was named the team MVP for the tournament as well as for a number of the individual games.
On the women’s side, Edmonton took the gold medal with a 14-11 win over Valcartier in the final game. CFB Halifax also represented the Atlantic region in the women’s tournament, and while they didn’t make the finals, they still turned in strong performances, including a 21-11 victory over Kingston during round-robin play. Game MVPs for Halifax during the tournament included MCpl Sherry Eccleston of MPU Halifax and MCpl Tammie Bell of DRMIS.