ETOBICOKE, Ont. – On a windy fall Saturday afternoon, the St. Clair Saints captured the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) women's softball gold medal for the second year in a row, sweeping the Durham Lords under the lights of Connorvale Park. St. Clair's Amy Claydon paced the way for the Saints at the dish, finishing with two home runs and three RBI, while Bryanna Kressler was dominant in the circle once again, picking up her fourth win of the tournament and strikeout out 14 in seven innings of work.

Needing to beat Durham twice to repeat as champions, the Saints cruised to a Game 1 victory, 17-3. The top two teams in the country were set to bet for provincial gold in a winner take all gold medal game.

The weather was chilly, but the Saints offence was red hot and they wasted no time to get going in the first inning. Senior Claydon would calmly step into the box and hit a mammoth solo home run, putting the Saints up 1-0. Kressler would get to the nod in the circle to support the batters, slamming the door shut with a 1-2-3 inning in the first.

The Saints were unhappy with a one-run lead, and the bats would return to their best form in the third inning. Sierra Baltzer singled to centre to score Shae-Lyn Murphy and would come around to thanks to Claydon's second home run of the game to give the Saints a 4-0 lead.

Looking to help her own cause, Kressler hit a two-run home run of her own in the fifth inning, extending St. Clair's lead to six.

With their title hopes slowly fading, Natalie Clemons trimmed Durham's deficit in half, hitting a three-run home run to make the score 6-3.

That would be as close as the Lords would, as St. Clair added two more runs in the seventh inning to successfully defend their provincial title.

The St. Clair Saints finished the 2023-24 season, capturing back-to-back national and provincial gold medals. For the Saints, it's their sixth provincial title since 2005.

Championship MVP
Amy Claydon, St. Clair
Bryanna Kressler, St. Clair

Championship All-Stars
Chelsea Oke, Durham
Grace Hearns, Durham
Shae-Lyn Murphy, St. Clair
Alexis Ferreira, Humber
Michaela Tuck, Humber

Source: Humber Hawks

Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/soft

Live Webcast: www.ocaalive.com

Thursday, October 19
Game #1: Humber (3rd) def. Seneca (6th) 9-5
Game #2: Mohawk (5th) def. Fanshawe (4th) 9-2

Friday, October 20
Game #3: Durham (1st) def. Mohawk (5th) 7-2
Game #4: St. Clair (2nd) def. Humber (3rd) 3-5
Game #5: Humber (3rd) def. Mohawk (5th) 4-0
Game #6: Durham (1st) def. St. Clair (2nd) 7-4

Saturday, October 21
OCAA Bronze Medal Game
Game #7: St. Clair (2nd) def. Humber (3rd) 11-0

OCAA Gold Medal Game(s)
Game #8: St. Clair (2nd) def. Durham (1st) 17-3
Game #9: St. Clair (2nd) def. Durham (1st) 8-3

- OCAA -

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E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com