Local Olympians weren't the only ones returning home to the Island on Monday with medals wrapped around their necks.
The Victoria Devils 96 team arrived during the noon hour complete with their silver medals from the Softball Canada Under-16 Championship in Brantford, Ont.
Victoria lost the final 14-0 on Sunday to the Delta Heat, the same team that defeated the locals in the provincial final. The Devils had downed the Heat 7-3 earlier in the playoff round at nationals, dumping the eventual champs into the B bracket before they bounced back.
"Yes, we're very happy with where we finished," said Devils 96 coach Brian Wallace. "It was an awesome week and the kids played fantastic. I don't know if I would use the words exceeded expectations, but we are pleased."
The Devils lost their first outing of the weeklong event 3-1 to Brampton before running off seven straight victories to advance to the final of the 14-team event.
"It was a long haul," admitted Wallace. "There were lots of weather issues - delays and restarts which caused some difficulties for the organizers."
In the end, the Devils team comes back as the second best team in the country.
Four B.C. teams competed, including the Devils, Heat, White Rock Renegades and Burnaby Oakeys. The Devils defeated the Oakeys 6-0 on Friday, which included Emma Entzminger's tworun home run. Victoria also defeated the Mississauga Tigers 6-4 in the A semifinal.
Entzminger finished first in batting statistics over the course of the tournament with a .560 average. Ashley Penney (.500), Sammy Pearson (.423) and Caleigh Coels (.417) all finished in the top eight.
