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Surrey trio leads Canada to 5th at junior world championships

Sara Groenewegen pitches no-hitter at Junior Women’s World Softball Championships
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Sara Groenewegen (centre) during pre-game introductions at world championships.

Led by a trio of Surrey players, Canada finished fifth at 2013 ISF Junior Women’s World Softball Championships earlier this week in Brampton, Ont.

Canada’s tournament ended on the weekend, after a 3-0 loss to Australia, whose pitchers limited the Canadian batters to just two hits in the game.

Surrey’s Holly Speers, Lindsey Ogilvie and Sara Groenewegen were all part of the Canadian squad, and Groenewegen – a member of the White Rock Renegades program – had perhaps the most memorable moment of the tournament, pitching a complete game no-hitter against China last Friday.

The game took nearly seven hours to complete due to a number of rain delays, but Groenewegen stayed in the game for the duration, striking out 11 Chinese batters and allowing just one walk and no hits.

Groenewegen was no slouch in the batter’s box either during the tournament, hammering a home run against the Czech Republic in Canada’s 5-1 win on Tuesday.

Speers, an outfielder, also had a good week wearing the red-and-white Maple Leaf jersey, hitting .444 and one home run during the tourney.

Coming off the bench, Ogilvie had just three at-bats in the tournament, and played first base.

Overall, Canada finished with a 5-2 record. Japan won the tournament with a 4-0 win over the U.S. in the championship game.

Groenewegen and her White Rock Renegades  ’95 squad – the defending national midget champions – will return to action locally next week, when the Futures Gold division of the Canadian Open Fastpitch Championship kicks off.

Groenewegen will also play with Canada’s senior women’s team at the Canadian Open – she is currently with the team in Oklahoma City, at the World Cup of Softball.

The Canadian Open begins Friday with the Futures and Showcase Select tournaments; the Women’s Elite, International and Futures and Showcase Gold tourneys begin Sunday and Monday at Softball City, Sunnyside Park and Cloverdale Athletic Park.

For more, visit  the tournament’s official site at www.canadianopenfastpitch.com