The University of Toronto Varsity Blues softball team went 2-2 to open their OIWFA regular season.

Facing a tough western division duo in McMaster and Brock, the young Varsity Blues showed a lot of fight and energy to open their season.

Saturday saw Toronto welcome McMaster to Dieppe Park with second-year kinesiology student Samantha Cotton getting the start in the pitching circle, throwing to a new catcher, Alison Feise. The McMaster bats were excited to start though, and touched Cotton and some poor Blues defence for seven runs (only two earned). In the third inning, there was a Toronto debut for second-year pitcher Aurora Nowicki, who held McMaster to four runs the rest of the way, while the Blues couldn't muster enough offence to catch up, dropping the opener 11-3.

Game 2 against McMaster was a different story though. Toronto stormed out of the gate with three runs in the first inning, and eight more in the second. Everyone in the lineup chipped in, with veteran Kylie O'Donnell leading the way with three hits. Erin Sullivan, pitching her first game for Toronto, gave up just two hits on route to a 14-0 victory to close the day 1-1.

The second day of OIWFA action had the Varsity Blues playing at Hendon Park against the Brock Badgers. Sullivan had the ball in the pitching circle again, but wasn't as sharp, and again the Blues defence was less than perfect, digging a big 8-0 hole after three and a half innings. The bats woke up though, with Madison MacKenzie and Beth Deconinck reaching base three times each, and suddenly the Blues were tied 14-14 after six innings in a very offensive, exciting game. Fourth-year kinesiology major Annie Vlahiotis held the fort down pitching for four innings but was tagged with a late, seventh inning run to lose 15-14.

In the second game against the Badgers, third-year pitcher Taylor Wright made her first Toronto start as a pitcher and it did not disappoint. Throwing six extremely good innings, to fourth-year catcher Shawnee Rizqa, who was excellent defensively. Some bad luck touched Wright for five late runs. The Blues offence game out hot in support of Wright though and the first six hitters of the game scored. Late in the game, Sullivan bunted with fellow kinesiology major Katelyn Graham on third base for a squeeze play and Toronto had their seventh run of the day, which would eventually be the winner as the Blues held on to win 7-6.

This weekend marked the Varsity Blues debut for eight new Toronto athletes. Starting 2-2 with strong performances from the new talent, plus the usual good play from the returning Blues, provides a great building block for the rest of the OIWFA season. Especially promising, is that three first year Blues (Sullivan, Amanda Deconinck, and Beth Deconinck) started all four games, with another, Kristen Naidu starting three, and driving in nine runs over those three outings.

The softball team is on the road this weekend, but still in Toronto Friday night vs. Ryerson University at Cummer Park at 7 and 9 p.m. The Blues then head out to Windsor to play the Lancers on Saturday afternoon at 2 and 4 p.m.