All-girls baseball team from Mauricie goes for provincial crown
Mauricie Pink Sox are the region's first and only all-girls baseball team
In its very first year in the league, the Mauricie Pink Sox Pee Wee B baseball team earned a berth in the provincial championships.
The team is made up of a dozen players between the ages of 12 to 14 from all over the Mauricie — and they're all girls.
The Pink Sox are the first team of its kind in the region. There weren't enough girls to create a league of their own, so they made a team of their own instead.
They beat teams mostly made up of boys to make it to this weekend's provincial championships, which began Friday.
Éric Vinette's daughter Mathilde plays on the team. He said he coached his son in baseball and his daughter wanted to try, so he said why not.
He said the media has made a big deal out of the Pink Sox, but he doesn't really see what the fuss is about.
"It's kids playing baseball and it's not the first year the girls are playing," Vinette said. "It's the first year they're playing together."
Mathilde, who is a pitcher and plays second base, said the decision to join the team was a hard one because she's played with boys for so long, but she wanted to try it.
The Pink Sox beat her old team in one of their games this year.
"Your friends become your enemies. Well, in baseball," she said, laughing.
She said she hopes her team's existence will one day lead to more all-girls' teams forming all over the province.
"It makes girls want to play a sport that is usually only played by boys," she said.
The Pink Sox dropped their first game 14-10 to the Panthères Blanche de Cartierville/Ahuntsic Friday afternoon. The provincial championships continue throughout the weekend in Quebec City.
with files from Peter Tardif