Ross going from national baseball team in Mexico to U Sports in Calgary for hockey

By Medicine Hat News on August 22, 2019.

PHOTO COURTESY BASEBALL CANADA/ALEXIS BRUDNICKI
Kaitlyn Ross (20) is seen during Canada’s game against Nicaragua Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019 in Mexico.

Kaitlyn Ross may be in Mexico playing for Canada’s national women’s baseball team this week, but next week she’s taking the next step in her hockey career.

Once the women’s World Cup baseball qualifier winds up Sunday, the 18-year-old from Redcliff will have maybe 24 hours at home before hitting the road back to Calgary, where she’ll start classes at Mount Royal University and tend goal for the Cougars in U Sports play.

“The first step was picking if I wanted to pursue my sports, like university for hockey or baseball or softball,” said Ross via cellphone following Wednesday’s 21-4 loss to the United States. “Once I decided hockey then I started getting a few more offers, there were universities that wanted me.”

Choosing to stay close to home after three years with Saskatchewan’s Notre Dame Academy, Ross isn’t closing the curtains on her summer sports passion, either. She just knows there are more options for her right now in hockey, where she’s put up stellar numbers including a 10-7 record, 1.88 goals against average and .942 save percentage this past season for the Hounds.

“Just because I’m going to university for hockey doesn’t mean I’m going to give up on baseball,” she said. “I want to keep playing every summer, and any time I get to practice I want to keep practising, keep getting better and hopefully stay on this team as long as I can.”

Ross has so far split time at the World Cup qualifier with Delta, B.C. rookie Marika Lyszczyk, and didn’t play in the loss to the U.S. When she has played she’s been reliable defensively, going 0-for-2 with a walk and an RBI in a 19-2 win over the Dominican Republic and 1-for-3 in Tuesday’s 7-5 win over Cuba.

Now 3-1, Canada has three games left before Sunday’s medal round, and is in control of its own destiny. A top-four finish would earn them a spot at next year’s World Cup – they beat the U.S. in last year’s edition to finish third.

“We’re definitely a lot younger, a lot more inexperienced,” said Ross of how things have changed from the 2018 squad. “But I think we are doing well, we are getting that experience and building for next year.”

Ross wasn’t officially on the national team when she debuted in a Canada jersey at an exhibition event in Washignton, D.C. in 2017. She says she’s a lot more comfortable now as a second-year national team player.

“Definitely more of a leadership role,” she said of her place on the roster. “It’s only my second year but I know how it works, I know what’s going on. I know the level of ball here and I’ve for sure got the confidence to go with it too now.”