The Varsity Blues fastpitch team defeated the Waterloo Warriors 7-5 and 7-6 to open their 2012 campaign on Saturday, September 15 in Waterloo, Ont.
 
In the first game of the day, Renee Ridout gave the Blues an early 1-0 lead, hitting in Meghan Chenoweth in the top of the first. It looked as though the Warriors would even the score, but a beautiful double play by short-stop Shannon Burke shut the home team down.
 
Both Burke and Chenoweth helped ramp up the score to 4-0 in the top of the third, while the Blues squeaked out of a fourth inning that saw the Warriors load the bases.
 
Kelly Murphy scored off a Kylie O’Donnell RBI in the top of the fifth and the Blues would add another two runs in the sixth.  Waterloo rallied for five runs, but it wasn’t enough as Toronto edged out the 7-5 win. Ridout earned the win on the mound.
 
The Warriors bounced back early in the second game, scoring four runs in the first two innings. Murphy scored off a hit by Burke for he Blues first run of the game. Toronto got back on track, shutting down Waterloo with a three-up, three-down top of the third.
 
U of T worked off that momentum, scoring three in the bottom of the third to even the score. The Blues went ahead in the bottom of the fifth inning; however, the game tied back up at 6-6 in the seventh. Julie Hale ended the game with a walk-off hit to secure U of T’s second win of the day.
 
The Varsity Blues return to the field tomorrow afternoon for a doubleheader versus the Laurier Golden Hawks. 

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