Fruitvale baseball products Allison Schroder and Daniella Matteucci will go head-to-head at this week’s Women’s National Baseball Championship in Okotoks, Alta.
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The top women’s baseball players in the country will compete for the 14th edition of the Women’s Invitational Championships where Schroder, 17, will play for Team BC and the 25-year-old Matteucci, who now lives in Burlington, will suit up for Team Ontario.
Six teams will compete for the championship including BC, Alberta, Quebec, Ontario, Ontario 2, and the U21 Prospects team. The championship is part of the selection process for Canada’s national team that will participate in the Women’s World Baseball Championships later this year.
Schroder was named to the Women’s National Team baseball program in 2017 as a 15 year-old after impressing coaches while playing for the Prospects team at the same tournament.
Matteucci, a veteran of the National Team since 2014, earned a silver medal at the Pan Am Games in Toronto in 2015.
Related read: Greater Trail athletes go for gold at Pan Am Games
Last August, the two teamed up to help Canada win bronze at the 2018 Women’s Baseball World Cup.
It was Schroder’s first World Cup, yet, with Matteucci as her catcher, she pitched lights out, and earned the win in a dramatic extra-inning 8-5 victory over Team USA in the bronze medal game. ‘Ella also had a tremendous tournament hitting .429, with two doubles and two RBIs through six games. She was perfect behind the plate as well, with 20 put outs, no errors and two batters caught stealing.
Baseball Canada features Schroder as one of five players to watch at this week’s National championship, saying: “Schroder made a name for herself last summer at the Women’s Baseball World Cup in Florida where her performance on the mound in the bronze medal game helped Canada to a win over the United States.”
BC last won a National women’s championship in 2016 with Matteucci in the line up, and Ella was also part of Ontario’s 2018 gold-medal run.
The two Fruitvale products won’t have to wait long to become reacquainted, as BC plays Ontario Thursday at 4:30 p.m. P.T.
Ontario looks to claim their third title in as many years, but the eight-time champions will face stiff competition in host Alberta, who captured the bronze medal in 2018. The U21 Prospects squad proved that they could hang with the top teams in 2018 and captured the silver medal.
Action begins Thursday and continues through the weekend, with medal games set for Sunday. Fans can follow all of the action online at Game Changer, gc.com , or go to seniorwomen.baseball.ca for more info.
sports@trailtimes.ca
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