REACH FOR THE TOP

One team is on a nine game winning streak. The other has won eight straight.

One of these streaks is guaranteed to end in Windsor on Tuesday evening. Or perhaps both.

The reigning OCAA champion St. Clair Saints have won nine in a row to improve to 14-4, all but locking up a provincials berth. St. Clair is coming off a doubleheader sweep of fourth place Humber, another team which has only tasted defeat four times.

Keeping pace are the Fanshawe Falcons. In only their second year of OCAA competition, Fanshawe has sent a message that its is not to be taken lightly on the diamond. The Falcons are unblemished in eight tries, including their last game, a 10-0 victory over Humber before weather spoiled the second half of a scheduled doubleheader. The Falcons are the only other OCAA team to hit double figures in victories with a 10-4 mark.

St. Clair hosts Fanshawe on Tuesday, with an eye towards revenge. When these teams met in London, Ont., last month, it was Fanshawe which prevailed 4-2 and 14-4.

Despite leading the Falcons by four games, Tuesday's games could be considered more important for the Saints. A split or Fanshawe sweep, and it wins the tiebreaker between these clubs. And with four games still in hand, it is not inconceivable that the Falcons could surpass the Saints at season's end.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

As noted above, the Humber Hawks missed an opportunity to gain ground in the OCAA standings, dropping three straight to St. Clair and Fanshawe.

All is not lost for the Hawks, however. At 8-4, Humber is still in great position for a post-season berth with 10 games remaining, including a pair against Fanshawe.

The Hawks will have a tough time catching St. Clair, having dropped the season series 3-1.

FOR THE BIRDS

With all this talk about Falcons and Hawks, it's time to give the mighty Condors some love. Conestoga has won two straight to begin the month of October with a doubleheader sweep of Seneca.

Third-year second baseman Brittany Bell (New Hamburg) was near perfect at the plate, going 5-for-6, driving in six runs while scoring four times. Bell contributed four multi-base hits with two triples and two doubles. She has hits in 13 of the 14 games she has participated in, with a stellar batting average of .571. Her 24 RBI also leads OCAA.

Despite a 5-9 record, Conestoga still has an opportunity to move into playoff position with six of its next 10 games against Durham and Humber. The Condors can begin gaining ground beginning with Tuesday's doubleheader at Durham.

ARMS RACE

With teams playing six extra games this season, single season records are bound to be broken.

One record set to fall is total innings pitched in one season. The record of 82 innings was set by Seneca's Stephanie Ozog in 2004-05.

Second-year St. Clair pitcher Allison Telfer (Windsor) is already within striking distance, having thrown 72 1/3 innings. Telfer leads Mohawk's Aimee Leduc (Princeton) by 10 innings, having played one extra game.

St. Clair has six more games remaining, and with Telfer pitching the majority of its innings, it's a good bet she will be inserted into the record book when the season concludes.

RECENT RESULTS

UPCOMING GAMES

Source: OCAA Communications