WINDSOR, Ont. – Durham College (Oshawa) has put themselves in the driver's seat after Day 2 of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Women's Softball Championship hosted by St. Clair College with a pair of wins on Friday which advances them to the gold medal round.
The 11 a.m. game on Friday saw Durham defeat Humber College (Etobicoke) by a score of 5-3 after fighting back from an early 2-1 deficit but scored four runs in the last three innings for the come behind win. Durham Player of the Game Nicole Mancini (Scarborough, Ont.) went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while pitcher Morgan Salter (Battersea, Ont.) went the distance surrendering only two earned runs on four hits and four walks but struck out five Humber batters. Alexis Pereira (Newmarket, Ont.) stayed hot with three more hits in the game for the Lords. Humber Player of the Game Alexis Ferreira (Mississauga, Ont.) hit a long fly for a round tripper adding a walk and two runs scored in the contest.
St. Clair cruised to a 9-2 win over Conestoga College (Kitchener) in their opening contest at 1 p.m. as left fielder Tiana LaChance (South Woodslee, Ont.) received the Player of the Game nod with a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the plate for the Saints. OCAA Player of the Year Amy Claydon (Cambridge, Ont.) pitched three innings to open the game earning the win with no hits, runs or walks against to go with five strikeouts. She also contributed a two-run homer at the plate and four RBI. OCAA Rookie of the year Shae-Lyn Murphy (Windsor, Ont.) stroked three hits including a double, two runs scored and an RBI. Rya Cowan (LaSalle, Ont.) had two doubles and two RBI for the Saints in the win. Right fielder Makenna Ross-Porter (Guelph, Ont.) had a hit and a walk with a run scored on her way to receiving Player of the Game recognition for Conestoga.
In the 4 p.m. elimination game Humber ended Conestoga's tournament with a 7-0 victory. Hawks Player of the Game honours went to pitcher Megan Muir (Brampton, Ont.) who went seven strong innings giving up just two hits and a walk with nine strikeouts. Ferreira had another home run with three RBI for Humber while teammates Jorja Berney (Mississauga, Ont.) and Breanna Oliver (Brampton, Ont.) each added a pair of hits and two RBI. Conestoga catcher Sierra Sheehy (Guelph, Ont.) was named Player of the Game for the Condors after a single hit performance.
In the pivotal matchup at 6 p.m. Durham held off a late charge by St. Clair to squeak out a 5-4 win which relegated the Saints to the bronze medal game and the longer road back to the gold medal round in the double knockout format. The Lords struck early with five runs in the first three frames for a 5-0 lead. St. Clair got on the board to make it 5-2 entering the fourth inning and added two more in the fifth but could come no closer stranding the tying run in the seventh.
Grace Hearns (Napanee, Ont.) had a single and a double with an RBI adding a run scored helping her to the Player of the Game Award for Durham. The Lords 11-hit attack included Pereira, Kaysa Melin (Surrey, B.C.) and Abi Suffel (Whitby, Ont.) each contributing two hits with starting pitcher Salter collecting her second win of the day in five innings of work.
St. Clair Player of Game Judy Lafleur (Essex, Ont.) had a triple with two RBI to go with two runs scored and a stolen base. Claydon took the pitching loss but helped her team keep it close with three hits and an RBI.
See below the tournament schedule and results as the tournament enters the medal round.
October 21
3:00pm - Game 1: Durham (11) vs. Seneca (1)
Players of the Game
Seneca – Chloe Ferko 1-2, R
Durham – Alexis Pereira 2-4, 2R, 3RBI
6:00pm - Game 2: Fanshawe (1) vs. Conestoga (2)
Players of the Game
Fanshawe - Sara Reading 2-3, R
Conestoga - Alexis Volckmar 2-3, RBI, R
October 22
11:00am - Game 3: Humber (3) vs. Durham (5)
Players of the Game
Durham - Nicole Mancini 3-4, RBI, R
Humber - Alexis Ferreira 1-2 HR, RBI, 2R, BB
1:00pm - Game 4: St. Clair (9) vs. Conestoga (2)
Players of the Game
St. Clair - Tiana LaChance 4-4, 2R
Conestoga - Makenna Ross-Porter 1-2, BB, R
4:00pm - Game 5: Conestoga (0) vs. Humber (7)
Players of the Game
Humber - Megan Muir 7.0 IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 9K
Conestoga - Sierra Sheehy 1-2
6:00pm - Game 6: Durham (5) vs. St. Clair (4)
Players of the Game
St. Clair - Judy Lafleur 1-3, 3B, 2RBI, 2R. SB
Durham - Grace Hearns 2-3, 2B, RBI, R
October 23
10:00am - Game 7: OCAA Bronze Medal Game: Humber vs. St. Clair
*Loser awarded Bronze, winner advances to Gold Medal Game
1:00pm – Game 8: OCAA Gold Medal Game(s): Durham vs. Winner Bronze Medal Game
*A second Gold Medal Game will be played at 3pm if necessary
October 24
Rainout Day
All games will live streamed by WE-Digital Productions and found at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/stclair
For more information including live stats please see the championship website at www.ocaa.com/soft
Championship Photos can be found at the following link https://stclaircollege.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000DNfV2lJcvkY/2021-OCAA-Softball-Championship
Spectators will need to contact trace upon entry to the SportsPark but admission is free to all championship games.
Source: St. Clair Saints