Of course her demeanor changes dramatically when discussing the way in which her novice Halton Hills Hawks closed out last week's showcase in Montreal.

"We came so close, but just couldn't get a run," said the 14-year-old Miltonian, with the sting of Sunday's 2-0 bronze-medal loss to the Victoria Devils having yet to subside.

While failing to secure a medal, the second seeded Hawks certainly proved to be on par with their national competition. They finished out the week at 5-4, with their three round-robin defeats all coming by a single run.

The Ontario silver medalists would avenge one of those losses -- with a 7-6 nail-biter over their provincial rival Oakville Angels -- to cap a 2-0 Saturday that pushed them to the final day of the 12-team tournament.

Halton Hills' earlier wins were much more decisive.

That would be quite the understatement in one case, as the Hawks wrapped up day two with a 28-0 annihilation of New Brunswick's Etoiles Stars -- a select team that served as a last-minute replacement.

"It actually got pretty boring after a while," said Del Rosso, referring to the three-inning massacre (perfect game for Halton Hills), in which she had a hit and three runs.

The Hawks' lone Miltonian played all but two games at the nationals, collecting a pair of hits and offering solid defence in the outfield.

"It was a really great experience. We got pins from all over the country and it was just a lot of fun," she said.