Antonacci: Oakville Angels U15 squad headed to Women’s Canadian Fast Pitch championship in Manitoba
The Oakville Angels have qualified for the U15 Women’s Canadian Fast Pitch Championship tournament in Manitoba, which is set to begin on Wednesday. Photo: Ryley Vanderhout
August 11, 2025
J.P. Antonacci
Canadian Baseball Network
Competing for a national softball title was a formative experience for young outfielder Rainey Waters.
Now known as Rainey Pucci and head coach of the U15 Oakville Angels, the softball lifer is excited to return to the tournament after 37 years, this time with 13 young players eager to make their own memories on the national stage.
The Angels are one of four Ontario teams taking part in the 21-team U15 Women’s Canadian Fast Pitch Championship tournament, which runs from Aug. 13 to 17 in the Manitoba towns of Winkler and Morden.
“This is very exciting,” said Pucci. “Especially having taken that core group (of players) for the last six years and getting them this far.”
The rep squad from Oakville qualified for nationals by finishing in the top four of 14 teams at a provincial tournament in Windsor in July.
“They did it in walk-off fashion, bottom of the seventh to secure their spot,” Pucci said, describing how an RBI double clinched the win and propelled the happy players out of the dugout to mob each other on the field.
“There was some excitement at second base,” she smiled. “It was really neat.”
Also on the card at nationals are three teams from Manitoba and Saskatchewan and five from British Columbia, the province that has produced the last eight U15 champions.
A mound meeting between the 15U Oakville Angels players. Photo: Ryley Vanderhout
Pucci said her team will be challenged from the jump in Manitoba, as the Halos will square off against several British Columbia teams during pool play.
“Those should be good, strong games,” she said.
The last winner from Ontario was the Guelph Gators in 2013. Pucci said the Angels could be the team to return the national title to central Canada.
“They’re pretty sharp,” she said. “They have a very good sense of gameplay. They make plays that I’ve not seen other teams make.”
The coach noted with pride that her team turned four double plays during a recent weekend tournament in West Virginia.
“And you don’t see that all that often,” she said.
Some of that on-field cohesion comes from about half the roster playing together for six seasons under Pucci’s tutelage.
“We started teaching them gameplay right off the top,” Pucci said, with she and assistant coaches Brian McKenzie, Nicole Rivait, Kirsten McLelland, and Alycia and Ryley Vanderhout stressing on-field strategy and situational awareness during twice-weekly practices at Trafalgar Park in downtown Oakville.
Twice-weekly practices helped the Oakville Angels qualify for the U15 Women’s Canadian Fast Pitch Championship tournament. Photo: Ryley Vanderhout
Playing weekly exhibition games across southern Ontario and spending most weekends on the road – including numerous tournaments south of the border – has given the team of 14- and 15-year-olds ample opportunity to refine their alert defence and solid hitting.
Now the Angles are headed west for their biggest test yet.
In an online message to participants, Softball Canada president Scott Neiles said the national championships “represent the pinnacle of many athletes' careers.”
“This is a great opportunity for you to test your skills against the best in Canada, and while doing so, see some of the beauty of this great country,” Neiles wrote.
To help players and coaches get to Manitoba, the Oakville team has organized an online fundraiser through GoFundMe with hopes of raising $4,000 to defray travel costs.
To contribute, visit their GoFundMe page here.
Building confidence on and off the field
Pucci’s love of the game blossomed in the outfield. As a kid, she loved leaving her feet to make highlight-reel catches.
“In the outfield, you could be a hero really quick. So it was cool,” she smiled.
After competing at softball’s highest level, Pucci turned to coaching, finding a new passion in teaching others. But she thought her coaching career was over after her youngest daughter stopped playing fastpitch 15 years ago.
Rainey Pucci is back coaching after a 15-year hiatus. Photo: Ryley Vanderhout
That was until her husband’s colleague asked if Pucci could offer his daughters some batting tips.
Two months later, this same dad called to say he was taking over the girls’ rep team but had no background in coaching. He needed help.
So Pucci put out a call to her softball network. Within the hour, several former teammates and girls she had coached raised their hands to help.
“It just snowballed from there,” said Pucci. “These are 30-year-olds who are dedicating 1,200 hours a year, all volunteer.”
Pucci herself is happy to devote so many nights and weekends to a vocation she says is as much about building character as imparting skills.
“My philosophy has always been it’s not an overnight thing,” she said. “The progression happens consistently throughout the season, and then consistently over time.”
As a coach, she preaches “a positive attitude and work ethic.”
“Hustle is my big word,” Pucci said.
“Get in there, be kind, be nice. Try to get along with everybody. Not everybody’s going to be your friend, but as a team, you have to work together. I think that is a really good foundation for what comes in the future.”
For a generation of girls whose self-esteem is challenged every day by social media, getting the chance to grow and shine on the diamond makes a big difference, Pucci said.
“It’s not just playing at an elite level. It’s the ability to control your emotions. It’s trying to find confidence,” she said.
“I don’t know if I could have survived Instagram. Everything looks so great and things come so easy (on social media). But you’ve got to work at it. And confidence is a big, big thing.”
Pucci hopes her team’s confidence peaks at nationals and the girls realize “just how good they are.”
“I hope they see that they can compete with the best of the best, and that’s why they’re there,” she said.
“And after working so hard for so long, and coming together as a team, that they can get this. I’m hoping that they surprise themselves, both as a player and as a person.”