(Photo from left to right: Adam MacIsaac, Royce Murphy, Tony Clairmont and Walter Muise)
Three softball players from Yarmouth came home with gold medals from the national Special Olympic Summer Games.
They were part of Team Nova Scotia in Antigonish, and were the lone athletes from this area at the games.
In the championship game, they were tied at 18 in the final inning, when Walter Muise stepped up to the plate, and delivered the game winning hit.
Muise says it was a good feeling.
“It came close that we didn’t have it, but I knocked in the winning run. I’ve been in it almost 30 years now, and it was a pleasure taking on competition from across Canada.”
His local teammates Royce Murphy and Tony Clairmont say they’re happy to represent our area with national gold as well.
Clairmont, the oldest player on the team at age 58 says he also came back with a swollen ankle.
“I rolled it going into second base. When I heard the umpire say ‘safe,’ I went ‘whew!’ One of the girls that pinch ran for me, that run was brought in.”
He says it was his first national games and he had a blast, and thanked players from Dartmouth for allowing them to join the team.
Adam MacIsaac served as an assistant coach for Team Nova Scotia.
He says they’re waiting to find out if they’ll attend the world games in Abu Dhabi next year.