August 22, 2018 · 0 Comments
By Jake Courtepatte
With six gold medals throughout the season already under their belts, the Aurora Diggers 06 Martin squad capped it off with a win at provincials on Sunday.
“I’m so unbelievably proud of this group of girls,” said head coach Todd Martin. “To come as far as they have in such a short while shows the passion and dedication they have for the sport.”
Following a tough 7 – 5 opening loss to LaSalle Gold in the preliminary round, the Diggers returned with a pair of massive wins to qualify second out of their bracket, beating London 14 – 0 before besting Brampton 11 – 0.
It took ten innings for the Diggers to topple Milton in the quarterfinals, eventually walking away with a 7 – 5 victory, before a 6 – 2 win over Oakville set up a rematch with LaSalle in the final.
Aurora exacted their revenge in the tournament’s finale, winning a 9 – 8 thriller to be crowned provincial champions.
“They represented Aurora and the Digger organization with class and grace throughout the summer,” said Martin. “Proving there is a way to win everything in style!”
Officially the top team in the province of Ontario, it was in the Squirt A division that the Diggers earned the crown, after qualifying for the top tier at a tournament in Port Perry over the August long weekend.
With such a successful year behind them including a handful of tournament wins, Martin said next year’s team will look to “try their luck” south of the border in some big-name American events.
He expects most of the core group to stick together next season, having played as a team through the “learn to play”, mite, and squirt divisions, though tryouts are being held the first week of September at Fleury Park to put together the 2019 squad.