TORONTO - It took a 24-game regular season to determine the top four teams in Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) women's softball. Now its time to determine the 2017 champion.
The 2017 Home Run Sports OCAA Women's Softball Championship presented by belairdirect takes place Friday and Saturday at the Brampton Fairgrounds in Brampton, Ont. The event is being hosted by Humber College.
Durham is the two-time defending provincial champions, having won a record 18 OCAA women's softball titles. It will be joined by regular season champion St. Clair, host Humber and fourth-place Mohawk.
The four teams will play in a double-knockout tournament, playing a minimum of two games each. Clubs are eliminated from the competition after their second loss. Schools are seeded based on regular season record.
The team that wins both games in the opening day of the tournament advances directly to the gold medal game, with two chances to win the championship. The team that avoids a second loss wins the tournament and the OCAA title.
St. Clair Saints (20-4, 1st OCAA)
The St. Clair Saints won their fifth consecutive regular season crown, but the elusive OCAA gold medal has eluded the program in each of the past two seasons. They enter the championship on quite a run, having won 10 straight.
No one drove in more runs than the Saints duo of second-year catcher/infielder Alexandra Senft (Windsor) and fifth-year veteran Sarah Bondy (Amherstburg), combining for 51 RBI. Senft was the OCAA co-leader with 28 RBI. Both contributed batting averages of .458 and .433, respectively.
First-year pitcher Olivia Elliott (Oakville) was the workhorse from the rubber this season, as she through 76 1/3 innings, striking out 72, an average of 6.6 per seven innings. Her 1.83 ERA was second-best among OCAA hurlers.
St. Clair opens the championship against Mohawk, a team the Saints swept in all four regulars season meetings.
Durham Lords (17-7, 2nd OCAA)
The defending champions never worry about championship seeding, having won the championship as a fourth seed two seasons ago, and a third seed last season.
Durham is led offensively by OCAA batting champion Marina Christie (Pickering). The third-year first baseman batted a stelar .520, with a league-best .547 OBP. Second-year shortstop Melissa McKnight (Brampton) led the team with 35 hits, nine for extra bases.
Third-year player Ashley Black (Waterloo) ended the regular season with a 3.20 ERA, pitching a team-high 76 2/3 innings. Durham's secret weapon is first-year player Emily Glendinning (Plattsville), who averaged 6.49 strikeouts per seven innings and a team-best 2.48 ERA.
Durham takes on Humber for the fifth time in 2017 in the opening round of the championship. It will be the rubber match, with both teams having won twice.
Humber Hawks (16-8, 3rd OCAA)
The Humber Hawks are hoping home turf plays in their favour, albeit not having the last at-bat for at least the start of the tournament.
Humber's top batters during the regular season were fourth-year catcher Terah Camilleri (Streetsville) and second-year outfielder/third baseman Sarah Franchetto (Guelph) with batting averages of .440 and .431, respectively. Fourth-year outfielder Aaliyah Davidson (Brampton) had team-highs with 29 hits and 28 RBI.
Third-year pitcher Myranda Pierson (Pickering) led the OCAA with a 1.74 ERA, one of only two players under 2.00. Humber also relied on second-year pitcher Rachel Matheson-Green (Oakville) who contributed a 2.46 ERA.
Humber has not won the OCAA championship since 2013.
Mohawk Mountaineers (10-14, 4th OCAA)
The Mohawk Mountaineers are party crashers at this year's provincials, having not advanced to the tournament since 2010. They finished in a tie with Conestoga, but took the regular season series between these teams 3-1 to earn the tiebreaker.
A good omen for the Mountaineers is the fact that the last time they made it this far, they took home the bronze medal. They only need one victory to match this feat.
Mohawk relied on the arm of fifth-year pitcher Aimee Leduc (Princeton), who threw an OCAA single season record 115 2/3 innings. She also struck out a league-high 87 batters.
First-year player Shelby Hayward (Hamilton) led the Mountaineers with 30 hits, seven triples, three home runs and 21 RBI. Fourth-year infielder Shanien O'Neill (Dundas) was in the Top 10 among OCAA batting leaders with a .414 average.
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/championships/soft/2017-18/index
Live Webcast: humberhawks.ca/broadcast/hsn1
Championship Schedule
Friday, October 20
Game 1: Humber vs. Durham - 11 a.m.
Game 2: Mohawk vs. St. Clair - 1 p.m.
Game 3: Losers of Games 1 and 2 - 3 p.m.
Game 4: Winners of Games 1 and 2 - 5 p.m.
Saturday, October 21
OCAA Bronze Medal Game
Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 - 10 a.m.
*Loser awarded Bronze, winner advances to Gold Medal Game
OCAA Gold Medal Game(s)
Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Bronze Medal Game - 1 p.m.
*A second Gold Medal Game will be played at 3 p.m. if necessary
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is the recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student-athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 29 members sponsoring 12 varsity sports.
For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com