The University of Toronto Varsity Blues fastpitch team split their final four games of the 2008 OIWFA regular season. The Blues defeated the Windsor Lancers 9-1 and 8-3 on Friday, October 10, before dropping two games to the Western Mustangs on Saturday, October 11.

The two victories on Friday night over the Windsor Lancers extended the Blues winning streak to seven games. Karlene Headley-Cooper (Mississauga, Ont.) drove home lead-off batter Alex Oosterhof (Cobourg, Ont.) and Winnie Law (Stoufville, Ont.) with a triple for two quick runs. Ottawa native Lauren Shute then cashed in Headley-Cooper and the Blues were up 3-0 after the first inning.

Windsor switched pitchers but the Blues kept the pressure on, with 14 singles, two doubles and two triples throughout the rest of the game. Law went 4-4 at the plate, with three singles and a triple for two RBI. Oosterhof, Mel Monson (Brampton, Ont.), Karen Nishi (Etobicoke, Ont.) and pitcher Charlsie Searle (Toronto, Ont.) all contributed with two hits. Danielle Ridout (Scarborough, Ont.) and Heather Roth (Tavistock, Ont.) added one hit each, as the entire starting line up got at least one hit in the game.

Down three runs after three innings in the second game, the Blues offence exploded to tally six runs. Headley-Cooper hit her first of two home runs, scoring Oosterhof and Law, to tie the game at 3-3. Roth tripled to bring in Mount Hope native Tam Siwak (substituting for Monson) and Shute to score two more runs. First-year short-stop Surina Sud (Scarborough, Ont.) drove in Roth, and Headley-Cooper hit her second home run of the night with a runner on base to complete the 8-3 comeback.

Toronto was forced to forfeit their first game of the Western double header, as they arrived two minutes after the umpires decided to call the game.

Western took a 4 -0 lead after three innings of play. Toronto got on the board in the fifth inning when Megan Barkway (Shellbrook, Sask.) crossed home plate on a Stemshorn double. Roth came in as a relief pitcher and threw three scoreless innings for the Blues.

Down 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Blues capitalized on a series of Western errors and put three runners on base. Kim Stemshorn (Mississauga, Ont.) stepped up under pressure to drive home all three runs with a triple. The Mustangs intentionally walked Headley-Cooper but the Blues could not push the winning run home, sending the game into extra innings.

Neither team managed to score until the ninth inning when Western opened the flood gates, scoring nine runs. The Blues were unable to cut such a deficit and fell 13-4. Stemshorn led the Blues with four RBI in the loss.

Toronto finished the 2008 OIWFA regular season in fifth place with a 12-8-2 record. The Blues will play Western, the McMaster Marauders and the Guelph Gryphons in the OIWFA playoffs hosted by the Laurier Golden Hawks at Waterloo Park next weekend (Oct. 18-19).