Hailey Stadnyk has been playing softball basically since she was old enough to wield a bat. Now the fourteen year old Humboldt Thunder vet has the chance to head to sunny Riverside, California for a Triple Crown tournament in front of dozens of college scouts. 

“She has the opportunity to be one of four pitchers on her team to go and pitch in front of a hundred plus scouts,” explains Hailey’s dad, Chris Stadnyk. 

Her love of the sport comes naturally. Hailey says, “I’ve always watched my brother and my dad play ball, so when I got on the field, I absolutely fell in love with it.”

Hailey is headed south with John Equina Fast Pitch (JQFP), a relatively new Saskatoon based squad that scouted Hailey when she played against them in a fall ball matchup. 

“She went to the city to play fall ball, and she ended up playing against Equina’s team,” says Chris, “And at the end of that game, he went up to her and said you’re coming with us to California.” At the time, Hailey pitched for the Twin City Angels out of Martensville and Warman. 

Hailey admits she didn’t know the opportunity would present itself out of a fall ball game, but it’s simply a testament to the adage “there’s always somebody watching.”

The tournament itself goes from November 18-21, but the Stadnyks are southbound a few days early as Hailey’s team has a few exhibition games lined up as a tune up. The Don Battles Triple Crown Tournament will host around 100 elite teams, mostly from the U.S. It’s designed to be a showcase for the best up and coming players to compete and strive for the attention of college ball performance scouts.

The trip will be a costly venture, so to help out, some local folks have sharked up fundraising opportunities. A Go Fund Me page is up for donations, and the Bella Vista is pitching in with a unique idea.

“They’re doing a poutine bar for us on October 16 where it’s build your own poutine,” explains Chris. “They’ll have all the french fries ready and you put on all the toppings you want.” 

Hailey has been busy canvassing local businesses for raffle prizes at the event and there will also be a 50/50.

To get tickets for the poutine bar event at 1:00 pm, October 16 at the Bella Vista, head to Chris Stadnyk’s Facebook page. If you can’t make it to the event but would like to help, head to the Go Fund Me page, Hailey’s chance to play in the USA. .