You could call them the Golden Girls. But given how young they are, players on the Cole Harbour Comets U-13 softball team will never be confused with the stars of the hit TV sitcom, older women in their golden years in sunny Miami.

And they wont remember the show.

But fresh from winning gold at the provincials in Stellarton in late July, the Comets have earned their way to the Eastern Canadian Softball Championships in balmy Cobourg, Ont., which take place Aug. 24-27.

The Comets, who regularly compete in the U-14 bracket (despite seven of their 12 players still being eligible to play U-12 softball), have been on a roll this year, routinely winning gold or silver at every tournament theyve played while constantly being up against older competition.

The rep team from the Cole Harbour Comets Association won gold at the East Coast Games in Saint John, N.B. They also won gold at the Bulldog tournament at Waterville, Maine, becoming the first Canadian team to win the prestigious tourney. The previous year, in 2016, the Comets won gold at the Blue Demon Dash, also the first Maple Leaf team to win that Waterville tourney.

Most recently, at provincials this year, the youngest team on the diamond went undefeated, pounding the Comet Angels a team from their own association 9-2 in the final and outscoring all rivals 56-6.

The girls showed their dominance, both in defence and in offence, said Cheryl Tanner, team manager, who also praised the pitching staff.

These girls are fierce, said Tanner, whose daughter Hailey is the team captain and whose husband Art is assistant coach. They just go up there and get the job done. Comets players all love the game, their manager said. Their drive to succeed is incredible.

Among the individual accolades won at various tournaments, player of the tournament awards went to Jenaiya Fraser at provincials and Taylor Nickerson at the East Coast Games, with Temma Parsons-Hudson earning the top pitcher nod at the May Madness Tournament.

Yes, they won gold there too.

In the provincials Game 4 semi-final against Cape Breton, an 11-0 whitewash, pitchers Callie Dearman and Dakota Donovan threw a no-hitter. In Games 1 (8-0 laugher against Eastern Shore) and 2 (17-0 romp over Stellarton), Donovan and Dearman combined with Jordan Bruce and Emily Martin to pitch shutouts.

In Game 3 (11-4 pounding of Sackville) Bruce and Sammie Balfour each drove in two runs. In the championship fifth game, Tanner, Fraser and Parsons-Hudson each had multiple hits, as the Comets cruised.

Hailey, 13, who began playing ball at the tender age of four, credits the Comets coaches, including head coach Shawn Fuller for the teams success.

Our coaches put a lot of dedication and work into it, the things they teach us, she said, also noting the girls closeness as friends, who are always willing to help each other.

They are a great group of girls, Art Tanner said. They all want to get better. They dont care how old they are or how old the other team is. They just want to beat them.

Looking ahead to the Eastern Canadians, he hopes the Comets can make it to the finals, even though theyll be facing some traditionally strong Ontario and Quebec teams.

Still, he feels that the ever-improving Comets squad can contend. The competition is tougher than before, he believes, but then, so are the Comets.

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Cole Harbour Comets U-13 girls win softball provincials - TheChronicleHerald.ca