Mackenzie Bender hit a home run when Simon Fraser University pitched her a softball scholarship.
“The SFU coaching staff and the programs the university offers was everything I wanted and more,” said the midget St. Albert Angels player.
The only non-American university competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association is a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and plays schools in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
The 2012 season will be the second for SFU in the Great Northwest after a storied 20-year stint in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. SFU won four NAIA titles during a run of 13 straight trips to nationals from 1998 to 2010.
Bender, 17, considered offers from Troy University in Alabama and a couple of junior colleges before settling on the SFU campus in Burnaby, B.C. The Grade 12 Paul Kane student plans on studying kinesiology.
“I really wanted to go to an NCAA school, that was my main goal, but the ability for me to stay in Canada was a huge part in making my decision. It just made it so much better,” she said. “It’s only a province away so flying home and seeing my family, which is the most important thing to me, really made it easy for me to choose to go there.”
The five-foot-10, hard-throwing right-hander is also a power hitter who can fill in at first base.
“Mackenzie has good size for a pitcher and plays with the kind of attitude you want on the mound. It is clear she does not like to lose,” said SFU head coach Mike Renney. “She is a good fielding pitcher, which is no surprise because she is an all-around athlete who can also hit for power.”
Renney scouted Bender at the 2011 midget A provincials. She was later picked up by the first-place Calgary Kodiaks for nationals.
“She not only had a presence on the mound but also was amongst her team’s top offensive weapons,” he said.
Bender described herself as a mentally tough pitcher who thrives on dictating the outcome of a game.
“I can control myself as a pitcher and control my emotions. I handle stress very well,” she said. “I just love the feeling of striking out a batter that’s always hit a bomb. The feeling of completely controlling the game is really fun, too.”
At the 2010 bantam A provincials, Bender pitched a perfect game and hit a grand slam in the seventh inning against the Calgary Diamond Devils.
Her catcher was Annie Gogich of Ardrossan, who also accepted a scholarship from SFU for next season.
“She called and caught an amazing game. She barely let a ball go by her. She was just phenomenal,” Bender said.
Softball is a sport Bender embraced at an early age.
“My parents put me in it when I was really little. It’s a game they grew up with,” she said. “It’s something that I’ve always found comes naturally to me. It’s just so much fun.”
Bender is also a starting middle on the Paul Kane women’s volleyball team and was the captain on last year’s junior team.
“It’s been a great experience. All the girls are so awesome. We as a team just blend so well together. We have so much fun. We never get mad at each other or blame each other. We always take responsibilities for our own actions. It’s just a great team.”
The volleyball season winds up today for the Metro Edmonton premier conference champions at the 4A provincials at Strathcona Composite and Jasper Place high schools.
“There are six or seven of us who are in Grade 12 and it’s just a great way to end our senior year.”
