HAWKS WIN THRILLER IN SASKATOON
SASKATOON, SK: After getting their tournament jitters out of the way in game one, the Humber Hawks softball (1-1) team was back on diamond Saturday morning looking to keep their national championship hopes alive. Standing in their way was Fanshawe College (1-1), a team that beat Humber twice this year in OCAA league play.
After learning the nuances of playing inside a turfed dome, Humber's defence played an integral part in their 3-1 victory over the Falcons. Fanshawe's first batter found the alley and tried to stretch her double into a triple. Veteran outfielder Aaliyah Davidson (Brampton) had other plans and threw a one hop strike to Bonnie Gillingham (Brampton) at third to make the out.
The game remained scoreless until the home-half of the third inning when Hilary Redrup (Carlisle) roped a single to score Davidson from second base. The Falcons countered quickly in fourth, tying up the game on an RBI single from their pitcher Lydia Kalbfleish.
Refusing to lose momentum, the Hawks struck again in the fourth after freshman Jacklyn Yewchyn (LaSalle) and Davidson recorded RBI singles of their own.
The Falcons would not give up easy and loaded the bases in the sixth inning with only one out. Jacey Lochert flew out to centre field and once again the Falcons thought it was a good idea to test Davidson's arm. Davidson made another incredible throw home to catcher Terah Camilleri (Streetsville), who applied the tag to help the Hawks escape the jam.
With the lead, Humber was three outs from winning the game; however Fanshawe continued to knock on the door. Back-to-back singles had the Falcons with runners on the corners and nobody out. Fanshawe sent the runner from first on a straight steal and Camilleri threw down to second trying to get the out. The runner on third ran home on the throw, prompting infielder Meaghan Murphy (Brampton) to make a heads-up play. The veteran second baseman cut off the throw and threw out the Falcon runner heading home. From there Humber recorded two quick outs to win the game 3-1.
Myranda Pierson (Toronto) picked up her first career CCSA win after throwing another complete game. The righty gave up one unearned run on ten hits while striking out two.
Murphy paced the way for Humber offensively after going 3-3 with a run scored. Kaitlyn Pitek (Whitby) also collected a hit and run scored for Humber in the win.
The Hawks will finish round robin play later today when they play the University of Regina Cougars (0-2) at 6:30pm ET (4:30pm CT). OCAA ERA leader Rachel Matheson-Green (Oakville) will be making her first CCSA start. Click here to follow the game live.
