LONDON, Ont. - At Fanshawe College on Saturday afternoon, the St. Clair Saints completed their perfect season and were crowned the 2022 OCAA women's softball provincial champions with a 4-0 victory over the Durham Lords. The Lords were awarded the silver medal.
The undefeated Saints got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning when Judy Lafleur doubled to left field to score teammates Ashley-Rae Brill and Amy Claydon. Bryanna Kressler then scored on an error to make the score 3-0. Kressler was strong on the mound for St. Clair, only allowing one hit after four innings of play. Through innings four and five, the Durham pitching and defence kept them within reach. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Shae-Lyn Murphy would score off of a Kressler single to extend the St. Clair lead to 4-0. Despite Durham's best efforts, the Saints proved too much to handle and would go on to complete their undefeated 2022 campaign.
Kressler was the winning pitcher for the Saints while Sydney Redick suffered the loss for the Lords. The Players of the Game were Lafleur for St. Clair and Abi Suffel for Durham. From Durham, Emily Glendinning was named a Championship All-Star. St. Clair's Murphy and Claydon were also named All-Stars for their strong weekend performances. The OCAA Championship MVP was Kressler from St. Clair.
BRONZE MEDAL GAME
In Saturday morning's game, the Humber Hawks were awarded the OCAA bronze medal after a 4-0 loss to the Durham Lords. With the win, Durham advanced to the gold medal game against the St. Clair Saints.
It was a pitching battle between Humber's Meagan Muir and Durham's Glendinning in the first five innings, as neither team could get on the scoreboard. There was only a total of four hits between the two teams, with Glendinning striking out an impressive 13 players after five frames, while Muir added three strikeouts of her own.
In the top of the sixth, with the bases loaded and no outs, Durham's Ryleigh Easton scored teammate Jocelyn Shelton to get the Lords rolling. Hannah Oke followed that with a two-RBI single to left field to make the score 3-0. In the seventh, Natalie Clemens tripled to centre field, then was brought home by Grace Hearns. A nice double play by the Humber defence kept the game within reach going into the final frame. Unfortunately, the Hawks could not capitalize offensively and claimed the OCAA bronze. Muir took the loss on the mound for Humber and their Player of the Game was Michaela Tuck. Muir was named an OCAA Tournament All-Star for the Hawks for her impressive play throughout the weekend. For Durham, the winning pitcher and Player of the Game was Glendinning, who had 18 strikeouts in the shutout.
All championship news and information can be found on the 2022 OCAA Women's Softball Championship website: www.ocaa.com/soft.
Source: Fanshawe Falcons
Photo Credit: Matt Hiscox
Thursday, October 20
Game #1: No. 4 Fanshawe def. No. 5 Conestoga 5-1
Game #2: No. 3 Durham def. No. 6 Seneca 16-5
Friday, October 21
Game #3: No. 3 Durham def. No. 2 Humber 4-3
Game #4: No. 1 St. Clair def. No. 4 Fanshawe 3-1
Game #5: No. 2 Humber def. No. 4 Fanshawe 4-1
Game #6: No. 1 St. Clair def. No. 3 Durham 11-0
Saturday, October 22
OCAA Bronze Medal Game
Game #7: No. 3 Durham def. No. 2 Humber 4-0
Losing team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of game
OCAA Gold Medal Game(s)
Game #8: No. 1 St. Clair def. No. 3 Durham 4-0
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at the conclusion of final game
- OCAA -
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