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The University of Toronto Varsity Blues fastpitch team played three doubleheaders versus the Guelph Gryphons, Western Mustangs and Windsor Lancers this past weekend (Sept. 25-27) at Dieppe Park.
 
Friday: Toronto 5, Guelph 1 / Toronto 11, Guelph 3
 
Friday night saw the Guelph Gryphons visit Dieppe Park, and despite some lighting trouble, the mood was terrific at the park. With a good size crowd, a high energy Blues side was able to push the pace towards Guelph, with Renee Ridout dominating in the pitching circle. With 18 strikeouts, Renee Ridout kept the Gryphons down to one run, while Kylie O'Donnell drove in two, for a 5-1 victory.  In game two of the double header, Annie Vlahiotis got the start, and pitched five extremely solid innings. The offence took over from there scoring ten runs, with contributions up and down the lineup for a 10-3 victory.
 
Saturday: Western 4, Toronto 2 / Western 6, Toronto 1
 
Saturday afternoon saw the defending national champion Western Mustangs come to town. Always a tough matchup, the undefeated Mustangs battled hard against Taisley Isaac who pitched wonderfully, but was matched by Rachael Jacques, and Western came out on top 4-2 in a very close game. The second game saw Western's bats heat up and score six runs, on ten hits.  Sadly, the Blues weren't able to keep pace, and took the second loss of the day, 6-1.
 
Sunday: Toronto 13, Windsor 10 / Toronto 10, Windsor 3
 
On the third consecutive game day, the team was looking to get back to their winning ways. Alicia Callaghan started the morning pitching, and was able to get into the fifth inning before running into trouble. The top of the lineup was again stellar, with Alika Kingsbury, Nicole Knudsen, and Kylie O'Donnell, each on base at least twice, and scoring seven runs between them. The Blues finished up with Taisley Isaac pitching to a 13-10 victory.  The second game on Sunday saw Taisley keep the ball, and go five strong innings, with the offence taking over yet again. Jumping out with seven runs in the first inning, the Blues were relentless, led by leadoff batter Alika Kingsbury again, on base four times. Make the final, 10-3 for the Blues.
 
Other notable weekend performances for the weekend:
Madison MacKenzie - 8 hits, 5 runs driven in
Mercedes Roddau - 8 hits, 6 runs driven in, 4 doubles, 2 triples
Kylie O'Donnell - 10 hits, 9 runs driven in
 
After a long, tiring weekend, the Blues have improved their record to 8-4 on the season. This has the team sitting in a tie for third in the league. With another busy week up next, the Blues head to York on Friday night, then on the road to Ottawa for Saturday and Sunday vs. Ottawa and Carleton.