Surrey is well represented on Softball Canada’s 2019 junior women’s national team.
The 17-player squad, announced Monday (Jan. 25), includes four who call Surrey home, and also an alternate.
As Team Canada, they’ll compete in Surrey at the Canada Cup International Softball Championship, from July 8 to 14, before playing for the WBSC XIII U-19 Women’s Softball World Cup in Irvine, California, in mid-August.
Surrey players on the roster are Lauren Benson, Hayley Grice, Kianna Jones and Grace Messmer, with Georgia Ogg and Delta’s Rawnie Westrate named as the team’s two alternates.
“The roster has been determined by the coaching staff following a successful selection camp held in Fort Myers, Fla. earlier this month,” says a Softball Canada release posted at softball.ca. The full roster can be found on the website.
Congratulations to the athletes and alternates who have been named to the #TeamCanada #JWNT who will compete at @CanadaCup19 and the @WBSC U-19 Women's Softball World Cup! https://t.co/fb7GGBxLzE pic.twitter.com/eeTVkpyGSq
— Softball Canada (@SoftballCanada) January 25, 2019
The Canadian junior squad, coached by Keith Mackintosh, will be looking for a podium result after finishing fourth at the two previous World Cups, held in Oklahoma City in 2015 and Clearwater in 2017.
Softball Canada invited 27 junior players to this month’s selection camp in Florida.
CLICK HERE to read more about the invited players.
The women’s national team roster, meanwhile, was announced on Jan. 18, and the list of players includes a handful with Surrey and White Rock connections. Among the 24 athletes who’ve advanced on to the next phase of the selection process are White Rock Renegades alumni Sara Groenewegen, Larissa Franklin and Danielle Lawrie-Locke, Surrey’s Holly Speers and Delta’s Kelsey Jenkins. All five players were members of the national team last summer.
From Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, the City of Surrey will play host to the softball Olympic qualifier tournament, World Baseball Softball Confederation officials announced on Jan. 20. Softball is returning to the Olympics after being discontinued as a medal sport since 2008.
with files from Nick Greenizan
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tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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