Rebelles victorious in AAA tournament

The women’s U23 AAA Quebec Rebelles softball team took home a big win in the Quebec Invitational in Chateauguay over the weekend, with two Kahnawa’kehró:non taking home gold medals against competition from around Turtle Island.

The round-robin tournament culminated in a final game, where the Rebelles won by a large margin.

“The final was not a close game which is usually expected in tournaments. We won by mercy rule,” said catcher Emily Meloche, who batted in the run that earned the walk-off.

The score was 10-0 for the Quebec team.

“It felt really nice to win last weekend. My team has a lot of potential, we just weren’t fully using it yet before this tournament. We started playing as a team which I think helped us get the medal,” Meloche said.

Her fellow Kahnawa’kehró:non, Bonnie Zachary, plays third base and outfield.

“I think just being with my teammates is a highlight in itself. I’m just here to make memories, have fun, and play the sport that I love to play,” said Zachary.

This won’t be the last time they all play as a team, she noted. The team will be playing in Massachusetts from July 11-13 before heading to nationals in Saskatchewan from July 28 to August 6.

“All our tournaments leading up to Saskatchewan are preparation. That is the tournament that we really want to win. It’s the Canadian Championships. We won bronze there last year, and we are hoping to do even better this year,” said Meloche.

She believes her team can do it, she said. She believes her squad wasn’t playing cohesively previously, but during the tournament they won because of their play as a team.

Since the tournament was close to home, it wasn’t far for fans and family to make the trip to the diamond.

“I’m always proud of Bonnie, she’s a great softball player but an even more remarkable person,” said Valerie Horn, Zachary’s mother.

“This might be her last year playing for the Rebelles, so it was nice to see her and her teammates come together for each other and win the tournament. So this was a big accomplishment, and I was so happy to be there for her.”

Zachary doesn’t plan to continue in competitive softball, so she is focused on enjoying the sport.

“I’m at the point of my career where I’m only playing for fun, and this is probably going to be my last year playing like this at this level,” Zachary said.

Meloche said the best part of the whole tournament was winning the last game. “Also just making the difficult plays throughout the tournament.”

Meloche also said how she enjoyed playing so close to home and how friends and family were able to watch her.

“All I’d like to add is how nice it was to play so close to home in this tournament. I was able to play in front of friends and family who aren’t normally able to come watch,” she said.

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