Both Waterloo Ghosts bantam girls softball teams head to nationals

Waterloo region is known in southern Ontario for having some competitive girls softball teams and this year both bantam Waterloo Ghosts teams have qualified for nationals.

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The Waterloo Gold and the Waterloo Black teams are heading to Delta, B.C. on Wednesday, Aug. 9, to take part in the under-16 girl's Canadian Fastpitch Championship.

Natasha Blenkhorn, an outfielder for the Waterloo Gold, said taking on teams from across the country means good teams like theirs will have to step up their game even more.

There'll definitely be a lot of competition, but we're just going to learn and to see what the other teams are like for next year.- Sydney Pendleton

"We try to compete as best as we can with them," she said, noting they'll face two of the top B.C. teams, whose batters will hit anything thrown at them.

The support of their coaches and parents will definitely help give them an edge, Blenkhorn said.

"Both of the Waterloo teams have a great coaching staff and they just push us to be the best that we can be," she said. "It all comes together and brings us to that next level."

'Show them what we're made of'

Waterloo Gold finished fourth in the province and Waterloo Black finished fifth, earning them the trip to nationals.

Sydney Pendleton, a catcher for Waterloo Black, said her team has a bit of a different goal while in B.C. The girls on Waterloo Black are slightly younger than the girls on Waterloo Gold, so this has been a building year for them.

"There'll definitely be a lot of competition, but we're just going to learn and to see what the other teams are like for next year," she said.

"Next year when we go to nationals, we'll be able to play and win more," Pendleton said, adding there's no question they plan to go to nationals in 2018 to "show them what we're made of."

Chance to learn

Both teams have been practicing and fundraising — both teams have Go Fund Me pages to help pay their way.

This will be Blenkhorn's third trip to the nationals and Pendleton's first.

Blenkhorn said what she's most looking forward to is watching players like Pendleton take it all in.

Pendleton said she's looking forward to learning how to improve her game from watching others.

"I've never seen what the other teams are like. I think it's going to be a fun experience to learn from watching and playing them," she said.

The Waterloo Gold midget team — which is the next age group up from the bantam teams — also earned a place in the nationals, which are being played this week in Lloydminster, Alta.

They made the playoffs and were set to take on a B.C. team Friday afternoon.