(London, Ontario) – At Alumni Field on Sunday afternoon, the Fanshawe Falcons (2-2) dropped two close games versus the reigning OCAA Provincial champion Durham Lords (4-0) by scores of 6-4 and 5-3.
Durham came out strong in the first game of the doubleheader, hitting a 3-run home run in the top of the first inning. The Lords added two runs to extend their lead to 5-0 in the third frame. The Falcons got on the board in the fourth inning when Morgan Lowry (Middlesex-Centre, ON) hit a double to centre field to score Paige Askew (London, ON). Durham added another run in the fifth inning but Fanshawe answered with a Katie Berg (Stratford, ON) leadoff double. Samantha Fuller (Ingersoll, ON) and Kennedi Roth (Stratford, ON) then had back-to-back RBIs. As the Falcons looked to complete the comeback, Laura Chappel (Staffa, ON) scored Roth on a long double to centre field. Unfortunately, the defending champion Lords would hold on and take game one 6-4. Chappel (1-1) took the loss for the Falcons, while Emily Glendinning (1-0) from Durham was the winning pitcher. Roth had an excellent game defensively and offensively, as she was 3 for 4 at the plate with 1 RBI, 1 run and four catches.
The teams exchanged runs to start the second game. A sac fly from Nichole Erb (Monkton, ON) scored Fuller to give the Birds some momentum. Roth then stole home to give Fanshawe a 2-1 advantage going into the second frame. The Lords scored big in the top of the third inning to take a 5-2 lead. Roth doubled to right field, then scored on a fly ball to the fence from Nichole Erb (Monkton, ON). Great pitching from Lowry kept Durham scoreless the next four innings to keep Fanshawe within reach, however they couldn't capitalize and the Lords took the 5-3 victory. The losing pitcher for Fanshawe was Erb (1-1) and Claire Dempsey (1-0) from Durham was the winning pitcher. After the opening weekend of OCAA league play, Roth is hitting an impressive .571.
The Falcons now begin a long stretch of 10 straight road games in the next two weeks. They will travel to Windsor to face St. Clair (0-4) on Wednesday, September 11 with game times at 6pm and 8pm.