The Varsity Blues fastpitch team has booked their ticket for the Ontario Intercollegiate Women's Fastpitch Association (OIWFA) playoffs, after winning five of six games this past weekend (Oct. 3-5) and move into fifth place with one week left in the regular season.
The weekend got off to a poor start as the Blues bats were cold in the first of two games versus Guelph, falling to the Gryphons 4-1 on Friday night. In one positive note, Heather Roth (Tavistock, Ont.) kept her impressive hitting streak alive with a triple, scoring second-year player Karen Nishi (Etobicoke, Ont.).
The Blues reversed their fortunes in the second game and capitalized on Nishi's two RBI and Karlene Headley-Cooper's (Mississauga, Ont.) two runs scored. Pitcher Charlsie Searle (Toronto, Ont.) helped her own cause with two hits and an RBI in the 4-1 Blues victory.
On Saturday against a much improved York team, the Blues had to battle hard to take both wins.
The Blues found themselves down four runs after a series of errors in the first innings. Toronto got two back when Nishi's double drove in Headley-Cooper and Megan Barkway (Shellbrook, Sask.). The Lions would add another run in the second inning to go back up by three. However, three Blues runs in the bottom of third tied the score thanks to key hits by Nishi, Roth and Alex Oosterhof (Cobourg, Ont.).
York tacked on another run in the fourth before fourth-year pitcher Melanie Monson (Brampton, Ont.) settled down and sat down the York batters, in order, in the final three innings. Barkway and Surina Sud (Scarborough, Ont.) crossed home plate on hits by Monson and Nishi as the Blues squeaked past the Lions with a 7-6 victory.
In the second game the Blues totalled 13 hits but could only muster four runs. Searle and Roth continued to hold a hot bat with multiple-hit games. Leading off the second inning, Oosterhof drove the ball deep enough to round the bases and touch home plate for an inside-the-park home run. The Blues added three more in the inning as Roth, Searle and Barkway combined for RBI on three hits.
York got one back in the bottom half of the frame but Searle then closed them down striking out nine Lions batters.
On Sunday, the visiting Gaels and the Blues struggled through the first four innings with only a single run scored by the home team. The Toronto bats woke up in the fifth and batted around, scoring six in the inning to take a 7-0 lead: Winnie Law (Stoufville, Ont.), Headley-Cooper, Monson, Nishi and Roth all hit doubles. Monson only allowed one Queen's batter to reach first base as the Blues mercied Queen's in five innings.
Game two proved to be a much different story.
Defensively, the Blues had three errors in the first inning, allowing five Queen's run to cross the plate. Toronto's veteran pitcher Searle then got the defensive support needed and would shut down the pesky Gaels hitters from there on in.
Toronto got three back in the home half of the first after Headley-Cooper was hit by a pitch and scored, along with a Law on a Lauren Shute (Ottawa, Ont.) double. Shute then came around to score on a Nishi double.
Two more runs were added in the third when Headley-Cooper was again hit by a
pitch and scored, along with Monson, to tie the game 5-5. For the third consecutive time, Headley-Cooper was awarded first after being hit by a pitch, and the Blues would bat around in the fifth to pull away for good.
Kim Stemshorn's (Mississauga, Ont.) double cashed in Nishi, Roth and Searle. Law became the fourth Blues batter hit in the game as the Queen's pitcher received her final warning.
A Headley-Cooper single to centre field would load the bases and Monson would take full advantage her opportunity to put the game out of reach, clearing the bases with a hit to centre field.
The Blues completed the 12-5 mercy in the sixth inning when Sud scored on a line drive by Stemshorn.
Notes: With everyone contributing, the Blues scored 35 runs in six games, giving up just 16 runs to their opponents. Second-year catcher Karen Nishi had her best weekend in a Blues uniform with seven singles and four doubles.
Pitchers Searle (8) and Monson (5) had 13 singles between them and two doubles.
Roth kept her hitting streak alive with four singles, two doubles and a triple. And finally, rookie Alex Oosterhof hit her first inside-the-park home run.
Next weekend, the Blues are in Windsor on Friday to face the Lancers and then travel back to Western to finish off their regular season on Saturday against the Mustangs.
If results go their way, the Blues could find themselves as the fourth or fifth seed heading into playoffs the following weekend.
