FROM THE ARCHIVES: LADIES’ SOFTBALL THROWS FIRST PITCH
October 1983
By Pietro Serrago
This year’s women’s softball Hawks are Humber’s latest sports addition, and as far as winning goes, they’re our best varsity team in Ontario College athletics thus far.
And for an expansion team, that’s doing pretty good.
Coach Joanne Harding’s team, has one win to their credit, a 10-8 opening-day victory earned over the Sheridan Bruins Sept. 21. And that’s more than any of the other Humber teams can claim. (Naturally, none of the other Humber teams has started their regular schedules yet).
The following Friday afternoon, Sept. 23, Hawks learned a punishing 17-4 lesson from cross-town rival Seneca College, on our new $22,000 softball diamond.
It isn’t Yankee Stadium by any degree, but neighbouring Humberline Dr. is no Bronx, either. On first glance, Humber’s “swingin’ Hawks” showed some muscle in their second home game of the young 1983 season, clubbing five runs out at an experienced Centennial Colts team before falling 7-5 in late innings. Coach Harding’s roster is filled with first-year rookies, and promises for a continually maturing softball club are good. Keeping a young team together makes for a brighter future, and next season, if the softball Hawks are still flying, the added strength of second-year experience may bring up the batting averages a wee tough, if not substantially.
We may even see one Hawk land a homer in the adjoining parking lot, high over the picket fence and into someone’s driver seat.
The team to beat this year? Seneca Braces have brought in the new year with 29 (believe it or not) runs in two games. Luckily, for West Division rival Conestoga, a Sept. 21 match with the high-flying Braves was postponed. Heaven knows how high Seneca would have run up the score against the lowly Condors, who are without their first win this season.
Oh well, with the Jays checking out for 1983 on the weekend, and the Expos doing likewise, it’s up to our women’s Hawks to reclaim a few notches in favour of Humber’s saddened major-league fanatics, of which I’m one.
