The under-13 Westman Magic became the first host team to win gold at the Wheat City Classic after rallying to beat the Saskatoon Raiders at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex on Sunday.
U13 head coach Heidi Figol’s squad went 4-1-1 in the round-robin, and beat the Saskatoon Raiders 14-7 in the final to capture the championship in the 12-team division.
“It feels pretty good,” Figol said. “I’m proud of our girls. We had a lot of pressure coming in because we didn’t know the Saskatchewan teams and our season hasn’t been great to start so we haven’t seen a lot of players in the (Manitoba) league either. It’s pretty exciting to set the tone for our season and just be able to do it at home.”
Westman Magic head coach Heidi Figol and some of her players celebrate immediately after beating the Saskatoon Raiders 14-7 in the under-13 final of the Wheat City Classic at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex on Sunday. They are the first Magic team to win their event at the third-year tournament. (Perry Bergson/The Brandon Sun) June 14, 2026
On Friday, they beat the White Butte Storm 15-2 and Regina Royals 5-2, and then fell 15-5 to the Twin City Angels for their first loss of the season. The Magic are 8-0 in league play.
It was a cold, windy day with intermittent rain on friday, but Figol said her team battled through the conditions.
“I tell my girls it’s just as cold and rainy for the other team,” Figol said. “That is something we try not to let it faze us and work through the weather. We just play through it and play hard.”
On Saturday, Westman topped the Southeast Sun Devils 14-1 and Saskatoon 8-6, and then tied the Moose Jaw Ice 4-4 in the one-hour 45-minute game limit.
On Sunday morning, they beat the Southeast Sun Devils 16-2 in the semifinals to advance.
“Our girls are so gritty,” Figol said. “If we make a mistake or an error, we’re right back and zoned in and ready to go again. Whether it’s pitching or at bat we’re aggressive, and we’re aggressive on the bases. We work so hard as a team to make every single player contribute in every way that we can to get to where we are.”
The Magic trailed the Raiders 7-3 midway through the third inning, but took the lead with six runs in the bottom of the frame and shut the door defensively the rest of the way.
In 2025, the Eastman Wildcats beat the Magic 14-11 to capture the inaugural U13 championship at the third-year tournament, which didn’t include the youngest age group in its 2024 event.
Despite the weather, Figol said the Classic continues to be a terrific experience.
“It’s a fantastic tournament,” Figol said. “I feel so lucky that we are able to host this and every year it’s getting bigger and bigger. The tournament staff so a fantastic job of hosting us. They’ve done an absolutely great job running this tournament.”
UNDER 15
Westman Magic batter Emerson Anderson gets the bat on the ball during the under-13 final against the Saskatoon Raiders at the Wheat City Classic at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex on Sunday. They are the first Magic team to win their event at the third-year tournament. (Perry Bergson/The Brandon Sun) June 14, 2026
In the 10-team U15 division, the Magic powered through the round-robin, beating Southeast 8-4, Winnipeg Lightning 10-3, White Butte Storm 14-5 and Central Energy 9-4.
U15 head coach Marc Lyver said his team played really well.
“We were so happy with the progression that we have,” Lyver said. “A lot of our league games have been cancelled this year so we haven’t really played a whole lot of games. Our goal is to progress every week and get better and better and improve and we’ve certainly done that.”
After beating Moose Jaw 7-4 in the semifinals, Westman fell 6-1 to Eastman in the final. Wildcats leadoff hitter Rooney Laluk hit a solo home run to right field in the first inning and pitcher Hannah Skrabek held the Magic to a couple of hits as they overwhelmed the hosts.
“Eastman is known for their hitting,” Lyver said. “They just seem to hit everything and that pitcher is just fantastic. She works hard all winter long to get where she’s at and she’s probably the best pitcher this age in the province.”
Eastman went 6-0 at the Classic, outscoring their opponents 55-13, with 10 of the runs against coming in an 11-10 victory over Smitty’s on Friday in their tournament opener.
Eastman head coach Jason Plett has been to the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex a lot over the years, including at U15 nationals and U13 westerns. He is a big fan of the facility.
“The Ashley Neufeld, it’s always a treat to come here,” Plett said. “The staff here and the care they take with the diamonds is awesome to see. You know you never have to worry about holes in the outfield or a bad infield.”
The Wildcats also won the Wheat City Classic title in 2025, with Central taking the inaugural crown in 2024.
Plett was philosophical about the cool, wet weather on Friday, noting it’s all part of the experience.
“It’s staying warm,” Plett said. “You go from a heat snap like we had a week ago and you’re trying to drink as much water as possible and then here, it’s trying to bundle up and stay warm during the game. The girls who maybe aren’t in the game at the time, it’s trying to stay warm enough for when it’s their time to get in and they’re good to go.
Westman Magic centre fielder Ava Boden makes a running catch near the fence during the under-15 semifinals against the Moose Law Ice at the Wheat City Classic on Sunday at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex. Boden and her Moose Jaw counterpart Ava Waldenberger-Evans put on an absolute clinic in the game, with both making outstanding catches. Westman won 7-4. (Perry Bergson/The Brandon Sun) June 14, 2026
“It’s Manitoba weather.”
He said it was also a good experience for his team to have early starts on Friday and Saturday to teach them how to go regardless of when the game starts.
Lyver, who was one of the organizers of the event and is the longtime president of Softball Brandon, said it all went well.
“It’s fantastic,” Lyver said. “Even though the weather wasn’t fantastic Friday and Saturday, just to be at home was really nice. We really enjoy playing at the complex, it’s such a nice spot to be, and our players really enjoy it as well.”
UNDER 17
It was a tale of two tournaments for the U17s, who walloped a pair of Saskatchewan teams on Friday, beating Southeast 12-2 and Twin City 10-3, and then taking it on the chin on Saturday, falling 15-5 to Eastman and 16-1 to Central.
“We played really well on Friday,” Magic head coach Kayla Alexander said. “Our bats were really going and we were making the defensive plays and our pitchers did great. On Saturday, we had tough competition in our league and weren’t as consistent with our defensive play and the other teams had a lot more hits than us.
“It’s looking at finding that focus so we can play in those big games against good competition and be in a game. We’re quite capable of winning those games.”
In the bronze-medal game, the Magic took an early lead when opening hitter Kasia Baranyk scored but Twin City’s Eabha Anderson clubbed a two-run homer in the fourth inning en route to a 4-1 victory.
That meant the Magic finished fourth in the nine-team U17 division.
Westman Magic second baseman Mya Duncan-Gagnon, who was over covering first base, waits for the throw to arrive as pitcher Callie Franklin looks on during the Wheat City Classic’ under-17 bronze medal game against the Twin City Angels at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex on Sunday. Duncan-Gagnon then fired the ball to second for a tidy double play but the Angels emerged with a 4-1 victory. (Perry Bergson/The Brandon Sun) June 14, 2026
“There were lots of good things,” Alexander said of the weekend. “We had some double plays, we had some home runs, lots of heads-up plays. There were lots of good things that definitely came out of this weekend too, it just seems that way when you look at the record. It’s not all about the record though.”
In the gold-medal game, Eastman was within a pitch of a mercy-rule victory with a 9-1 lead when Central struck back. But it proved to be in vain, with the Wildcats earning a 14-5 win.
Last year, after rain washed out the final, a proposed matchup later in the summer between Central and the Interlake Phillies was never held. In 2024, Twin City won the title.
Alexander said while her team’s finish is disappointing, the event never is.
“This is the best place to be playing in Manitoba right now,” Alexander said. “Our girls just feel at home here. You can’t get better than this right now. The diamonds are in great condition and it’s nice playing at home where we have so many spectators coming to cheer us on.
“It’s a good atmosphere in the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex.”
OVERALL
From an organizing perspective, especially for a tournament staged by the Magic, it was a positive that Westman had three teams playing for medals.
Joel Whiteside, who organized the event with the rest of the Magic board, said while only two of the three teams were ultimately successful, he was pleased by the local showing.
“It was unbelievable,” Whiteside said. “The program is super strong and the girls, the talent, the athletes, the coaches, they put in a lot of work to be in the finals and be in these bronze medal and gold medal games and I think they want to show up for these home games in front of their home crowds on their home diamonds.
“They battled hard for it. It’s the first time ever we’ve had a Magic team that is going to have their name on a trophy, so that’s really exciting for everybody.”
Rooney Laluk of the Eastman Selects is greeted at home by her teammates after her leadoff home run gave the Selects a 1-0 lead over the Westman Magic in the first inning of the Wheat City Classic’s under-15 gold medal game at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex on Sunday. Eastman won 6-1. (Perry Bergson/The Brandon Sun) June 14, 2026
Unfortunately, one casualty of the compact schedule and subpar weather for the first two days was the skills competition, which had been set for Saturday evening but was ultimately cancelled.
“With the schedule being so busy for the U13s, playing six round-robin games and the weather being very challenging for everybody, it was two draining days for all the players and everybody,” Whiteside said. “We did have some teams that were requesting to opt out of the skills competition, and eventually we had too many that opted out we decided to pull the plug on it this year.
“It was disappointing for us because we don’t do it for anything other than to just because we think it’s an awesome thing to do and we think it’s a cool experience. It’s disappointing for us and some teams that did want to do it but we understand why some teams opted out.”
The third-year event, which had a total of 31 teams competing, also used Steve Clark Field, River-2 and the North End north diamond on Friday and Saturday.
While it was an event that certainly faced its challenges, a warm day on Sunday had everyone feeling pretty good.
“The girls, the coaches, the fans all battled through Friday so they could make it to this beautiful day on Sunday,” Whiteside said. “It worked out pretty well.”
» pbergson@brandonsun.com
