Taylynn Kizer (Washoe, Bishop Paiute tribes), who is heading into her sophomore year at Douglas High School, played for the gold medal-winning California softball team that won the 16U girls tournament July 21 at the North American Indigenous Games.
MINDEN, Nev. — Taylynn Kizer aided Team California in its sweep to the girls’ 16U softball tournament championship the week of July 17 at the North American Indigenous Games in the Greater Toronto Area.
Kizer, a sophomore-to-be at Douglas High School, pitched one game and contributed with her bat as Team California, based out of Morongo, Calif., swept to six straight victories in the nine-team age bracket, capped by a 12-2 win on July 21 in the gold medal game against Ontario.
Team California also defeated British Columbia in the semifinals on July 20, 13-0, at Turner Park in the city of Hamilton.
Before that, the team posted wins in its pool play on July 17 against Wisconsin, 11-0, and Manitoba, 7-0; and on July 18 against Alberta, 14-1, and against Saskatchewan, 8-1.
Kizer pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts against Alberta. She threw 67 pitches in the game.
Kizer represented the Washoe Tribe and Bishop Paiute tribes. She was joined on Team California by Carson High sisters Jailene Salciedo and Alexandria Salciedo, who both represented the Washoe Tribe.
Jailene, who earned second-team all-region honors as a sophomore at Carson High this past spring, pitched a no-hitter against Manitoba and held British Columbia scoreless in the semifinals. The right-hander struck out 12 of the 16 batters she faced against Manitoba.
Alexandria caught Jailene’s games as well as the game Kizer pitched.
The Games featured more than 5,000 Indigenous young people between the ages of 13-19 participating on teams representing each of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories and up to 13 regions in the U.S.
Dave Price is sports editor for The Record-Courier, a newspaper within the Sierra Nevada Media Group, which publishes First Nation’s Focus.
