After losing to Carlito's in last year's final, Tommy's girls weren't about to fall two years in a row.

The ladies of the Wildrose Women's Slowpitch League battled all summer long to get to the tournament-final on Saturday, Sept. 8, and again it was Carlito's and Tommy's fighting for the A-division trophy.

Tommy's set the stage and were the team to beat. They were undefeated heading into the final and it was their trophy to lose. But right before the game, one of their players took a ball to the face, not breaking her nose but definitely giving her a bloody one.

Maybe that shook the team up a little, because they were trailing defending champs Carlito's 7-5 until the bottom of the sixth.

Maybe that fear of losing what they worked so hard for all season lit a fire under them. Maybe they needed the time to shake off the cobwebs and get their heads in the game. Or maybe it was just coach Darel McCauley shouting at them louder than normal that kicked them into gear. (It was probably that last one.)

Whatever it was, it worked.

Tommy's racked up a six run inning at the top of the seventh capitalizing on mistakes by Carlito's players. And when they hit the outfield, they were diving for catches and stopping Carlito's in their tracks. At the end of the day, Tommy's won 11-9.

McCauley said he was definitely nervous right up until the end.

"We were down until the sixth inning before we took the lead. That's when the team used the good defence they've used all season long," he said.

"I'm awfully proud of my girls. They did everything they were supposed to do."

For Carlito's, it was tough to be back in the second place spot. Last year was the first year they'd won, and prior to that it was always agonizingly close - just like this year. But coach Paul Mabee said the team will come back stronger next year and the girls will keep their eye on the top prize.

"Tommy's had a very strong team and played really well," he said. "But our team will go on and they'll do well."

Mabee will be hanging up his coach hat though, as he's moving to Ontario. But he has great faith his team will continue to be one of the top competitors in the league.

On the B-division side it was also a rematch. The Brewster Blazers and Canmore Outpost faced each other for the second year in row, but this time the team from Canmore came out on top.

larissa.barlow@sunmedia.ca