She saved the best for last.
Sarah Pengelly patiently waited for her first-ever trip to the pitcher's mound for Canada's national women's baseball team this past weekend during the group 'A' round-robin World Cup qualifier event in Thunder Bay, Ont.
And when the Coquitlam Little League and Reds alumna took the mound, she never left — and made a big statement while doing so.
The 17-year-old pitcher gave up only one hit and amassed a team- and tournament-best 10 strikeouts, as the Canadians mercied Korea 10-0 in their final match of the tournament on Sunday (Aug. 13).
Pengelly's complete game shut-out also provided insurance as Canada had already officially advanced to the Women's Baseball World Cup next year with a victory over Australia a day earlier (Aug. 12).
Now nicknamed "The K Queen," the right-hander retired the first seven batters she faced, including the first four on strikeouts.
The Burnaby-born athlete relied on her teammates to get out of a jam in the third inning as the Koreans were pressing with two runners on base before the final out.
After adding two more strikeouts in the fourth, Pengelly was able to work around a one-out walk in the fifth before striking out her ninth and tenth batters.
She was the only Canadian pitcher to throw a complete game this weekend.
Pengelly's call up to the senior women's squad followed her silver medal performance with B.C. at the Canadian national championships.
She currently leads the Coquitlam Reds men's premier league team with 10 starts, is third with 52.2 innings pitched and five wins, fourth with 33 strikeouts and she's one of only three Reds hurlers to record a save this past season.
Prior to the promotion, Pengelly was a member of Coquitlam Little League, which has a 2019 national title.
Canada will return to Thunder Bay next summer for the Women's Baseball World Cup after finishing second in the group 'A' qualifier with a 4-1 record.
The United States was the only other team to make it out of the tournament, going undefeated at 5-0.
Canada's results were as follows:
- 10-0 win over Korea
- 11-7 win over Australia
- 23-0 loss to the United States
- 22-3 win over Hong Kong
- 9-1 win over Mexico
