Heather Healey played for Team Canada at the Women's Baseball World Cup qualifier tournament. The team faced host Mexico and walked away with bronze. (Submitted photo/Heather Healey)

By Nikita Ganovicheff

World Cup Qualifiers

Loon Lake officer wins bronze at international baseball tournament

Aug 28, 2019 | 2:01 PM

Loon Lake Const. Heather Healey returned from Mexico with a bronze medal and the chance to once again play in the Women’s Baseball World Cup in 2020.

Canada faced host team Mexico at the Women’s Baseball World Cup qualifier tournament and won 11-1 in a mercy-rule victory in Aguascalientes on Aug. 25.

The top four teams of USA, Venezuela, Canada and Mexico qualified for the 2020 Women’s Baseball World Cup. The United States faced Venezuela in the finals and won the gold medal.

“We hoped to be in the gold medal game like any other team would and it was a little bit of an upset not getting to the gold medal game. But we played hard in the bronze medal game and we’re happy to be coming home with a medal,” Healey said.

Canada started strong defeating Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Cuba but lost their next two games against tournament finalists USA and Venezuela.

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“We struggled in the middle of the tournament but we were able to bounce back and come out with a strong win,” Healey said.

The team then won against Puerto Rico to get into the bronze medal game.

Team Canada qualified for the World Cup after beating Mexico in a 11-1 mercy-rule victory. (Submitted photo/Heather Healey)

Healey said the team is quite young with an average player age of 20-years-old. The tournament was the first international competition for eight of the 20 players.

Before going to the World Cup, Healey will have to go through try-outs again next summer to secure a spot on the team. If she passes, it will be her third time competing in the World Cup.

Healey played in the tournament in 2014 where Canada placed fourth and 2016 when they won silver. She did not participate in 2018 because of RCMP training.

Healey said she wants to play in the World Cup again and will train hard during the off-season.

“When you play at such a high level, there’s never really an off-season. You always have to be in a position to train all the time and practice,” Healey said.

The date and location for the 2020 Women’s Baseball World Cup are still to be announced.

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nikita.ganovicheff@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Nikitaganov