Host St. Clair College did the improbable and defeated the two time defending OCAA Champions, Durham College to earn the title of 2008 OCAA Women's Fastball Champions. The Saints strung together two upsets to win in the final round against the favoured Durham Lords from Oshawa. This marks the second championship for the Saints who last won the crown in 2005.

The champs had their work cut out for them as they kicked off the tournament with a loss to the eventual bronze medalist, Mohawk Mountaineers 9-6. The ladies in green bounced back in their next game to defeat the fourth seed, Seneca Sting, 9-2 to eliminate the North York team from medal contention.

On day two, St. Clair began with a little redemption on their mind, turning the tables from day one with a 9-2 victory over Mohawk in the Bronze Medal game. Durham waited undefeated in the championship round in the double knock-out format. St. Clair needed to defeat Durham twice in order to capture the gold medal. The host team came out in convincing fashion in the opening game and held an 11-2 advantage in the 5th inning. Durham made the game quite close loading the bases in the seventh inning before falling 11-8.

With the Saints victory, the ‘if necessary’ was just that. St. Clair capped off their thrilling championship run by shutting down the league’s top offence on defense, scoring one run in the first inning and another fifth and following it up with an outstanding complete game four-hitter pitching performance from Kandice Bagley to earn the 2-0 shut-out.

Danielle Smith of the Durham Lords was named the tournament’s Top Pitcher, while Candice Gatecliffe of the St. Clair Saints was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

See below a list of scores and awards for the entire tournament.

Friday, October 17, 2008
Game # 1
(3) Mohawk 9 def. (2) St. Clair 6

Players of the Game
Mohawk - Samantha Tubman 3 for 4, 2 RBI, 1 R
St. Clair - Trisha Whaley 3 for 4, 3 RBI, HR, 2B, 1B, 1 R

Game # 2
(1) Durham 12 def. (4) Seneca 2

Players of the Game
Durham – Amanda Grunning 3 for 3
Seneca – Erin Belanger 1 for 3, 2 RBI, 3B

Game # 3
St. Clair 9 def. Seneca 2

Players of the Game
St. Clair – Candice Gatecliffe 3 for 4, 2 RBI, 7 IP, 4 H, 10 K, 1 BB
Seneca – Vivianna Vannes 2 for 3

Game # 4
Durham 6 def. Mohawk 2

Players of the Game
Mohawk - Casey Ramey 2 for 3, 1 RBI, 3B
Durham – Shannon Ferguson 2 for 3, 2 RBI, 2B

Day 2 - Saturday, October 18, 2008

Bronze Medal Game
St. Clair 9 def. Mohawk 2

Players of the Game
Mohawk - Nicole Miller 2 for 4, 1B, 2B, RBI
St. Clair - Natalie Taylor 3 for 4, Grand Slam HR, 4 RBI, 2 R

Mohawk Mountaineers awarded the Bronze Medal.

Gold Medal Game #1
St. Clair 11 def. Durham 8

Players of the Game
Durham - Danielle Smith 2 IP, 2 H, 2 for 2, RBI
St. Clair - Keri Bagley 2 for 4, HR, 3B, 2 RBI, 3 R

Gold Medal Game #2

St. Clair 2 def. Durham 0

Players of the Game
Durham - Karie Neddo 1 for 3
St. Clair - Kandice Bagley 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

St. Clair crowned OCAA Women’s Fastball Champions.