The Ridge Meadows ’97 Pride girls’ squirt softball team capped off a stellar season by bringing home a gold medal from the provincial championships last weekend at Lochside Park in Saanich, winning seven games straight to take the title of best in B.C.

The Ridge Meadows Minor Softball Association squad of 11- and 12-year-olds started off the four-game round robin portion of the 13-team competition with a 20-0 win over the Surrey Storm ’98.

Team members Bobbi Berkey, Rae Samuelson, Caitlin Hart, Anelise LeClair, Shae Domitruk, Madison Zurowski, Katie Stanoffsky, Shelby Cumiskey, Hayley Pegram, Kate Head, Rachael Moree, and Emily Kozlik racked up an impressive record of 44 wins, six losses and two ties this season.

The Pride opened the tournament with a 20-0 shellacking of the Surrey ’98 Storm, allowing only a single hit. Game 2 saw the Pride give up a pair of runs in the first inning before they buckled down defensively, beating the Richmond ’97 Islanders 5-2. The Pride downed the White Rock ’98 Renegades 19-4 before finishing off the round robin with a closely fought 5-4 win over the Victoria ’97 Devils.

The Pride entered the play-offs in the second seed, behind the also-undeafeted Fraser Valley ’97 Fusion. Every Pride batter managed at least a base hit in their 7-0 win over the Surrey ’97 Storm. The win advanced the Pride to the semi-finals where they faced a rematch with the Devils, beating them 4-1.

By way of the double-knock-out format, the Pride met the Devils in the gold medal game after the Devils downed the previously undefeated Fusion to advance to the finals.

For the third time in the tournament, the Pride came out on top, winning 4-2 and claiming the B.C. championship.