The storm held off, the fans came out and the four best collegiate fastball programs converged to Durham Field on October 19, the official site of the 2007 OCAA Women's Fastball Championships. After all the action on the field had settled on day one, the second seeded Durham Lords advanced to the Gold Medal Game, the fourth seeded Mohawk Mountaineers (Hamilton) guarenteed themselves an OCAA medal and the number one ranked St. Clair Saints (Windsor), will look to rebound from a tough defeat.

The Lords did what they were supposed to in the 11:00am match-up against the third ranked Conetoga Condors (Kitchener), as they came away with a 5-1 victory. Behind the arm of surprise starter Ashley Webster (Lindsay) and the always consistent bat of veteran catcher Vanessa Chaborek (Windsor), the Lords built an early 2-0 lead after the first inning. Behind Webster and solid all-around team defence the Lords held a 2-1 lead until the sixth inning, when they broke through for three more runs and sealed the win.

In the game of the tournament thus far with playoff atmosphere crowds buzzing from both sides of the diamond, the second-seeded hometown Durham Lords pulled out an exciting 4-3 eight inning victory over the top ranked St. Clair Saints. The Lords opened the scoring in the second inning and held the lead all the way until the fiffth inning, where St. Clair was able to score two runs and go up 2-1 after five complete. However, the Lords top batter during the regular season, Danielle Smith (Oshawa - .520 Avg.), drilled an RBI triple in the top of the seventh with two outs to tie the game at 2-2. Then in the bottom of the seventh, the Lords defence came through once again, as they turned a third to first to home doubleplay to end the inning and force extras, as backstop Chaborek blocked the potential St. Clair winning run at the plate. In the top of the eighth played in international tie-breaker rules, the Lords were able to score two runs and just as it looked like St. Clair was going to tie it up only trailing by one run, Smith struckout the Saints' clean-up hitter with runners on second and third to seal the Gold Medal appearance on Saturday.

2007 OCAA Fastball Championship Day #1 Summary

Game #1
(2) Durham Lords 5R 3H 1E 4LOB
(3) Conestoga Condors 1R 5H 3E 8LOB

WP: Ashley Webster (1-0) 5IP,1R,1H,6K,2BB,1ER
LP: Lindsay Bosomworth (0-1) 6IP,5R,4H,4K,4BB,5ER

Lords Offence
Vanessa Chaborek: 2-2,2R,2RBI,homerun (Player of the Game)
Danielle Smith: 1-3,1R,2RBI

Condors Offence
Jen Morris: 1-3,1R,1RBI,homerun (Player of the Game)
Mel Voisin: 1-3

Game #2
(1) St. Clair Saints 4R 7H 0E 9LOB
(4) Mohawk Mountaineers 0R 1H 1E 6LOB

WP: Candice Gatecliffe (1-0) 7IP,0R,1H,7K,4BB,0ER (Player of the Game)
LP: Jenny Koschanow (0-1) 6IP,4R,7H,4K,3BB,3ER

Saints Offence
Candice Gatecliffe: 2-3,1R
Ashley Vincent: 1-2,2RBI

Mountaineers Offence
Michelle James: 1-3 (Player of the Game)


Game #3
(3) Conestoga Condors 3R 6H 2E 7LOB
(4) Mohawk Mountaineers 4R 5H 3E 7LOB

WP: Jenny Koschanow (1-1) 7IP,3R,6H,3K,4BB,2ER (Player of the Game)
LP: Laura Matheson (0-1) 7IP,4R,5H,4K,3BB,0ER (Player of the Game)

Condors Offence
Laura Matheson: 2-3,double
Brit Horton: 0-4, 3 RBI

Mountaineers Offence
Bridgit Rewald: 1-2,1R,1RBI
Ellie Hogg: 1-4,1R


Game #4
(1) St. Clair Saints 3R 7H 3E 8LOB
(2) Durham Lords 4R 5H 2E 5LOB (8 innings)

WP: Danielle Smith (1-0) 8IP,3R,7H,6K,2BB,2ER (Player of the Game)
LP: Kandice Bagley (0-1) 8IP,4R,5H,2K,2BB,3ER (Player of the Game)

Saints Offence
Natalie Taylor: 3-3,3 singles
Jackie Desjardins: 2-3,1RBI

Lords Offence
Amanda Ellison: 1-3,2R,1RBI
Vanessa Chaborek: 1-4,1R,1RBI
Danielle Smith: 2-4,1RBI

Source: Cory Lusted, Durham College Sports Information