Caught in a run-down!Playoff round underway for Select, Futures teams

CanadianOpenFastpitch.com

Chased by Cloverdale Fury 97’s Kristen Mckee, Estevan Elite’s Kristen Skjonsby makes it safely to second base Sunday during a Showcase Selects game at the Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship at Softball City. (Boaz Joseph/Surrey Leader photo)

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Feature:Lady Sharkspage 2

Championship games for Select teamsFutures, Showcasesee schedule on page 3

Player Pro� le Shaelyn Coolbaugh page 4

Showdown: Team BC vs

Northwest Sharks July 15

NORTHWEST LADY SHARKS

The Northwest Lady Sharks are a newly formed team of Washington-based athletes who all play university ball around the USA. They formed this team specifically so they could stay in shape and keep up their high level of play during the off-season.

The Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship is the highlight of the team’s sum-mer schedule. The team is made up of a talented pool of university athletes who all bring their unique strengths and accomplishments to the diamond.

Lauren and Chloe Kesterson are identical twins that have played together since they were seven years old. They just completed a successful freshman year at Kent State University. Sammii Jimenez is starting

pitcher and second baseman for Texas Southern University.

Allie Rhodes will likely be the #1 pitcher for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish next year; she led

her high school team to the state cham-pionship her junior year.

Taylor Greenfield is currently a ball girl for the Seattle Mariners and is no

stranger to international competition. As a high school freshman, Taylor was

the starting first baseman on the state championship team.

This is the first time to Canada for many players on the North West Lady Sharks 23-and-under team, and they are most looking forward to exploring the Surrey area and to challenging themselves against top international competition in the Women’s Elite division.

Sharks staying sharp in the offseason

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LADY SHARKS

Allison Rhodes of the Northwest Lady Sharks pitches against the Quebec Rebelles Saturday at the 2013 Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship at Softball City on July 13. (Boaz Joseph/Surrey Leader photo)

Connect withCanadian OpenFastpitch

2013Visit www.CanadianOpenFastpitch.com for event information, maps, tickets, scores and more. Visit BC-LocalNews.com for feature coverage of the tournament by Black Press publications, including Peace Arch News and Surrey Leader.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTERFollow @CdnOpen on Twitter to stay up-to-the-minute with the 2013 Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship. Use the hashtag #COFP13 to let people know you’re tweeting about the tournament and to see what others are saying. Also, follow @BlackPressDigital to stay informed.

CONNECT WITH USON FACEBOOKLike us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CanadianOpenFastpitch, where the 2013 Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship will be posting daily news, player features, scores, games and more.

Also, � nd local coverage and all the stories, photos and info you need to stay current with the event by liking Black Press Facebook pages, including the Peace Arch News and Surrey Leader.

CONNECT WITH USON INSTAGRAM!Don’t forget to share your cool and creative photos from the ballpark with Instagram by following @cdno-pen_fastpitch.

WATCH GAMES ONLINE, JULY 16-22The Women’s International Championship games from the Championship Diamond will be broadcast LIVE online with our pay-per-view service! Visit www.CanadianOpenFastpitch.com to view live games through the dedicated feed directly from Softball City. Proudly supported by the video team from Briere Production Group and the website streaming services of NeuLion.

FOLLOW ALONGPointstreak Sports Technologies is the of� cial scorekeeping software for the Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship. Users will be able to access scores live in real-time at www.CanadianOpenFastpitch.com.

WATCH VIDEOS ON YOUTUBEVisit the Canadian Open Fastpitch of� cial YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/CdnOpenFastpitch for softball-related videos and tournament action.

2 CANADIAN OPEN FASTPITCH HOTSHEET • Monday July 15, 2013

Snapshots ofthe game:Sun. July 14

Tweet photos to @CdnOpen

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Today’s Schedule:

The PoCo Ravens dugout during a Showcase Select game at Softball City. (Boaz Joseph/Surrey Leader photo)

Monday July 15, 2013 • CANADIAN OPEN FASTPITCH HOTSHEET 3

games to watch:Friday, July 12th ■ It’s Opening Day of the 2013 Scotiabank

Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship at Softball City.

saturday, July 13th

■ Women’s Elite Championship division play begins at Softball City.

■ It’s Opening Day of the 2013 Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship at Cloverdale Athletic Park and Sunnyside Park.

monday, July 15th

■ The Showcase Select Championship Game on Diamond 2 begins at 3:30pm, followed by the Showcase Select Awards Presentation.

■ Watch the Futures Select Championship Game on Diamond 2 at 6:30pm, followed by the Futures Select Awards Presentation.

tuesday, July 16th

■ Team Canada takes on China-Nanjing for their first game in the Women’s International Division on Diamond 1 at 6:30pm.

■ It’s Boy’s Night Out at the ballpark! Catch some local boys softball games at Diamond 2 at Softball City, 6:30pm and 8:30pm.

wednesday, July 17th

■ Join the Celebration of Softball! The Parade of Athletes begins at 5:30pm on Diamond 1 at Softball City.

■ Team Canada vs. Team Australia at 7:00pm at Softball City.

thursday, July 18th

■ Visit Team Canada for their autograph signing, taking place after their 6:30pm game vs. Team Japan at Softball City.

Friday, July 19th

■ The Women’s Elite All Star Awards take place at 5:30pm on Diamond 1.

■ Team Canada vs. Team USA, 6:30pm at Softball City.

saturday, July 20th

■ Don’t miss the Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch Women’s International All Star Awards on Diamond 1 at 6:00pm.

sunday, July 21st •

■ The Showcase Gold Championship Game will be held on Diamond 2 at 1:30pm, followed by the Showcase Gold Awards Presentation.

■ The Futures Gold Championship Game is on Diamond 2 at 4:00pm followed by Futures Gold Awards.

■ The Women’s Elite Championship Game is set for Diamond 1 at 4:00pm, followed by the Women’s Elite Awards Presentation.

monday, July 22nd

■ The Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch Women’s International Championship Game happens on Diamond 1 at 7:30pm followed by the Women’s International Awards Presentation.

Are you wondering what’s happening on the field when you’re somewhere else? View scores, statistics, and the live-updated Game Live system from Pointstreak scoring technologies online at www.CanadianOpenFastpitch.com

MONDAY, July 15 PARKS: SBC - Softball City, CAP - Cloverdale Athletic Park, SP - Sunnyside.

Shaelyn Coolbaugh – Cranbrook HeatShaelyn has played ball since the age of five when she first started t-ball.From that point on it was her favourite sport no matter the season. Shaelyn was on the Zone 1 Summer Games Softball team in 2010 and was the star centerfielder for the under-14Cranbrook Heat when they won the provincial 2011 C championships in their hometown.She has been nicknamed ‘Crazy Legs’ for her bunting prowess and how

fast she comes out of the batting box. Just this past year, Shaelyn has taken up catching for her team as well. In her spare time, Shaelyn plays the piano, excels inthe Mount Baker Concert Band with her trumpet, plays for the Mount Baker Wild Volleyball team and is always on the honour roll and power list at MBSS.

Did you know....? In fastpitch softball, the ball must cross the plate under the batter’s arm-pits and over the top of his/her knee for the pitch to be considered a strike by the umpire.

Did you know....? The Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship is split into six divisions (International Women’s, Women’s Elite, Futures (U19) Gold and Select, Showcase (16U) Gold and Select).

Did you know....? A softball pitch at the 1996 Olympics was clocked at 73.3 MPH.

Did you know....? A fireman, Lewis Rober, played a very big role in developing the game. He needed something to keep his Minneapo-lis firemen busy while waiting for fire calls, so he marked a field in a lot next to the fire station.

Kristen Skjonsby of the Estevan Elite lays down a bunt during a Showcase Select game Sunday at the 2013 Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship at Softball City. (Boaz Joseph/Surrey leader photo)

Player profile: Fast facts:

U.S. teams unbeaten in Futures Select

American teams claimed the top three seeds for the Futures Selects playoff round.The Spokane Diamonds, Edmonds Stars and Oregon Fastpitch were the three groups winners after round robin play, each with four

wins in as many games. Spokane allowed just one run to take the top-seed. Edmonds was scored on just four times and was seeded second, while Oregon surrendered five runs and earned the third-seed.The top eight teams began the playoff yesterday. Semifinal games are today at 1 p.m. at Softball City, followed by the final at 6:30 pm on Diamond #2.

Pre-tournament win for Venezuela

While four of the five na-tional teams in the Women’s International division of the Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch Interna-tional Championship were competing at the US World Cup in Oklahoma, Team Venezuela prepared for

Tuesday’s opening day with a 7-1 victory over the Quebec Rebelles of the Women’s Elite group in an exhibition game Saturday night at Softball City.Jayce Sojo hit a two-run home run in the first in-ning to give Venezuela an early lead. Leading 5-1 after three, Venezuela added three more in the fourth on a two-run doulbe from Maria Soto, who then scored on a sacrifice fly by Hernanza Ruiz.Venezuela will play their first game of the tourna-ment tomorrow (Tuesday) at 3:30 p.m. against Japan.

Storm teams still perfect in Showcase

Two teams from the Surrey Storm rep program earned the top two seeds for the Showcase Select playoff, each with four wins in four round robin games.The Storm ’97 Selects earned the top spot with a 33-3 run difference, with

the Storm ’98 Selects taking the second-seed with a difference of 31-6. The Oregon Riptide earned the third-seed, with the Fleetwood Force ’97 placing fourth. Both teams were also 4-0 (win-loss).The first two playoff rounds were played last night. The semifinals will take place today (Monday) at 10:30 a.m. at Softball City, with the championship game at 3:30 p.m. on Diamond #2.

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4 CANADIAN OPEN FASTPITCH HOTSHEET • Monday July 15, 2013