The University of Toronto Varsity Blues fastpitch team had a busy weekend at Queen's University and York University to open up the OIWFA season.

Officially opening up the OIWFA 2017 schedule saw the Blues in Kingston on Friday night vs Queen's. The Gaels have been a tough matchup in the past for Toronto and that was not different on Friday. Facing a tough pitcher, the Blues were only able to muster two runs and after falling behind in the third inning, it was too tough a mountain to climb, as Toronto dropped the first game of the doubleheader 6-2.

The second game of the night saw Alicia Callaghan take the ball in the pitching circle and go three solid innings, while the offence came to life for Toronto. A first-inning run scored by Michelle Miller started the game strongly. The third inning saw a five-run explosion, started by first-year player Jessica Tamayo, followed by a triple from Nicole Knudsen and runs driven in by Kylie O'Donnell, Shawnee Rizqa and two from Mercedes Roddau. Freshman pitcher Samantha Cotton came in to pitch in the fourth inning and squashed a Queen's rally before the Blues exploded again for seven more runs, highlighted by a grand slam from Shelby Reid on route to a 13-4 victory.

Saturday's games saw a return to Toronto, on the road at York University. The slow start from Friday was quickly forgotten with a fast five-run start based on patience, drawing three walks, before runs batted in from shortstop Mercedes Roddau and first baseman Alicia Callaghan. Annie Vlahiotis chipped in two more RBI. It was smooth sailing from there with Samantha Cotton pitching a strong game, going six innings, and picking up her first career victory for Toronto.

The final game of the weekend had the veteran arm of Taisley Isaac pitching, notching six strikeouts in six innings as once again the offence jumped out to a quick start. A walk from leadoff hitter Alika Kingsbury started the fire and, with hits from Michelle Miller and Shelby Reid behind her, the Blues were up 2-0 early. In the third inning, the top of the order was at it again, with Kingsbury walking to lead off, followed by a single from Nicole Knudsen and a triple from Miller, to take a 5-0 lead. The road trip ended with a 7-3 win vs York.

Strong performances from newcomers Cotton and Tamayo adding to the already strong core makes for an exciting start to the season. The defence turned six double plays, with the offence scoring 33 runs.

The Varsity Blues are back to work on Wednesday night at Dieppe Park for their home opener vs the Brock Badgers at 7pm and 9pm, before heading to Ottawa on the weekend for four more games.

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