'Very inspiring' to see growth of baseball for women, girls in Manitoba, players say

'Very inspiring' to see growth of baseball for women, girls in Manitoba, players say

Team Manitoba takes 5th place in Baseball Canada’s women’s national championship

Players with Manitoba's national senior women's baseball team say they're happy to step up to the plate to show young girls what could be in store for them.

Winnipeg is hosting Baseball Canada’s women’s national championships, with eight teams from across the country vying for the gold medal from Thursday until Sunday at Optimist Park.

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Nova Scotia each have one team playing in the tournament, alongside two teams each from Ontario and Quebec.

Players have also battled a scorching heat wave that hit southern Manitoba this weekend, with temperatures hitting 34 C in Winnipeg by 4 p.m. Sunday, according to Environment Canada.

Jewell Thompson of Team Manitoba described the tournament as "four long, hard days in the heat." Her team cooled off with cold towels, freezies and frozen water bottles in the dugout, she said.

But despite the heat, the player from MacGregor, Man., called it "pretty awesome" to experience the tournament with her teammates.

"We've worked hard all year and just seeing everyone shine throughout the experience has been really nice to see," she told CBC News on Sunday.

Team Manitoba secured fifth place after beating Saskatchewan on Sunday afternoon, following a quarterfinal loss to an Ontario team Saturday.

Thompson, who has played baseball for most of her life, said it felt "unimaginable" to watch and be part of the sport's growth over the years.

"When I started, girl's baseball wasn't a thing," she said. "I grew up being the only girl on my team, so just being here today and seeing a whole team of girls is honestly very inspiring."

Brenlee Thomas, 10, said she has watched eight of the tournament's games since Thursday.

The player with Manitoba's Red River Coyotes U12 team served as a "batgirl" at the tournament, picking up and returning bats tossed onto the field.

Thomas says she wants to pursue a career in baseball or hockey.

"It feels good to see what I might be doing 10 years from now," she said. "It would be cool if I could do that when I'm older."

Amber Baker, a coach and player with Team Manitoba who hails from the community of Strathclair near the Saskatchewan border, says it's a dream to represent her home province in the tournament.

Baker grew up being the only girl on the boy's baseball team and says Manitoba's baseball programming for women and girls has grown so much.

"I just hope that the girls stick with it, especially now with the professional women's baseball league [in the U.S.]," she said. "They don't have to switch to softball if they want to go somewhere."

She hopes to mentor younger players along their journeys.

"If you don't make it one year, that doesn't mean you won't make it the next," she said. "It's not going to get given to you, but if you put in the work, it will come."

Women’s baseball national championship 'inspiring' for new generation of players

With files from Santiago Arias Orozco