FIGHT TO THE FINISH
As the calendar flips to October, four teams in OCAA women's
softball still have a mathematical shot at clinching first place by
regular season's end.
That a recipe for exciting action down the stretch with many key
games over the next nine days.
The top four teams advance to the OCAA championship, hosted by St.
Clair, beginning on Oct. 17.
PRECARIOUS LEAD
The St. Clair Saints remain in first place with an 11-4 record,
but have dropped two straight, and no longer control their own
destiny.
The second-place Condors are the immediate benefactor. At 10-3,
Conestoga has two games in hand, and can leapfrog St. Clair with
wins in all of its remaining five games. (A head-to-head tie goes
to St. Clair for winning the season series).
And then there are the Durham Lords. At 9-3, Durham can move ahead
of both St. Clair and Conestoga with wins in each of its last six
games. Three of Durham's final four games are against the Condors,
adding to the potential drama.
As for the Humber Hawks, they need to win their remaining three
games, and hope for a lot of help from the others. Humber is
currently in fourth with a 9-6 record.
CLOSING TIME
No matter what happens, the Saints, Condors and Lords can rest
easy knowing they have done enough to advance to the OCAA
championship.
For Humber, it is just a matter of time. The Hawks need one more
victory, or Fanshawe loss, to earn an invite to the double-knockout
tournament.
Durham, Humber and Fanshawe could still mathematically tie for the
final two playoff spots but the Lords won the season series against
both clubs, giving them the first tiebreaker. Fanshawe won its
season series against Humber, forcing the Hawks to win the playoff
position outright.
Fanshawe has a 5-9 record, and at best can finish at 9-9.
RECORD SCRATCH
Three offensive single season records could fall during the home
stretch.
St. Clair's Skyler Patteson (Guelph, Ont.) has 28
hits and 20 RBI this season, approaching the regular season records
of 31 hits and 29 RBI.
Teammate Sarah Bondy (Amherstburg, Ont.) has
scored 21 runs, two shy of the record of 23. She also has 24
hits.
RECENT RESULTS
| Date | Away | Home | Time/Status | |||
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| Sep. 24 | Mohawk | 0 | Durham | 10 | Final - 5 innings | |
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| Sep. 25 | Seneca | 1 | Conestoga | 5 | Final - 7 innings | |
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| Sep. 27 | Mohawk | 0 | Conestoga | 15 | Final - 4 innings | |
| Fanshawe | 3 | Durham | 5 | Final - 7 innings | ||
| St. Clair | 9 | Humber | 4 | Final - 7 innings | ||
| Mohawk | 0 | Conestoga | 16 | Final - 3 innings | ||
| St. Clair | 4 | Humber | 5 | Final - 7 innings | ||
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| Sep. 28 | Seneca | 10 | Mohawk | 0 | Final - 6 innings | |
| St. Clair | 0 | Durham | 1 | Final - 7 innings | ||
| Fanshawe | 3 | Humber | 2 | Final - 7 innings | ||
| Seneca | 15 | Mohawk | 4 | Final - 5 innings | ||
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| Sep. 30 | Durham | 8 | Humber | 5 | Final - 7 innings | |
UPCOMING GAMES
| Date | Away | Home | Time/Status | |||
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| Oct. 1 | Mohawk | Fanshawe | 7:00 PM EDT | |||
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| Oct. 2 | Conestoga | Humber | 6:00 PM EDT | |||
| Conestoga | Humber | 8:00 PM EDT | ||||
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| Oct. 4 | Durham | Mohawk | 12:00 PM EDT | |||
| Seneca | St. Clair | 2:00 PM EDT | ||||
| Durham | Mohawk | 2:00 PM EDT | ||||
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| Oct. 5 | St. Clair | Mohawk | 12:00 PM EDT | |||
| Conestoga | Durham | 1:00 PM EDT | ||||
| Seneca | Fanshawe | 1:00 PM EDT | ||||
| Conestoga | Durham | 3:00 PM EDT | ||||
| Seneca | Fanshawe | 3:00 PM EDT | ||||
Source: OCAA Communications