PoCo's Mary-Anne Walz among 2023 BC Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Port Coquitlam softball player named to 2023 BC Sports Hall of Fame class

Mary-Anne Walz was an all-star on the international stage while competing for Canada in the 1980s.

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Port Coquitlam's Mary-Anne Walz has been named to the 2023 induction class for the BC Sports Hall of Fame, honouring her career achievements in softball at the national and international levels.Port Coquitlam Sport Alliance/Edited by Kyle Balzer, Tri-City News

A Port Coquitlam woman that helped pave the way for a generation of Canadian softball stars is set to be etched into B.C. history.

Mary-Anne Walz has been selected to the 2023 induction class for the BC Sports Hall of Fame in recognizing her accomplishments on the world stage.

Her name was called on Tuesday (Oct. 25) during an official announcement at BC Place, alongside 14 other individuals and two teams that'll have their names engraved.

Walz was an icon in Canadian softball in the 1980s as she became one of the headliners for the national squad at competitions around the world.

While she only won one international medal — a bronze at the 1987 Pan-American Games — she was consistently in the spotlight, making an impact on the game at shortstop.

She was named the all-star among other players at her position in three consecutive World Challenge Cups between 1985 and 1987. She was also named "top batter" in the '87 event.

Walz was also chosen to wear the maple leaf as a member of the all-international team at the 1986 World Series, which was also her first of five full seasons with the Canadian national squad.

In the same tournament in New Zealand, she helped the red and white claim fourth place, and sixth place in Illinois four years later.

At the national level, Walz won six Canadian championship titles — five with Vancouver Alpha Sports and one with the White Rock Renegades.

She kickstarted her softball dream in Port Coquitlam with the minor association and ended up at Oklahoma State University.

Walz's influence has transcended the game in Canada, which resulted in a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games a dozen years after the sport left the Olympics.

That team included fellow Port Coquitlam softball star Jenn Salling, who's now coaching at the University of Central Florida.

The 2023 BC Sports Hall of Fame induction gala is scheduled to be held next June, and is set to welcome the following:

Athletes