DURHAM 7, ST. CLAIR 4

NORTH YORK, Ont. - With their backs against the wall and a feisty team opposite them, the Durham Lords' championship hopes were tested Saturday morning at Seneca College at the OCAA Women's Fastball Championship. The Lords trailed heading into the bottom of the fifth, but were able to score two in the inning and two more in the bottom of the sixth to pull out a 7-4 victory over the St. Clair Saints.

Saints pitcher Alexa Georgiou walked the first batter she faced in Melissa Semeniuk, then threw a wild pitch to advance Semeniuk to second. Samantha Bryant-Officer drove in the game's first run with a triple to right field to give the defending champions a 1-0 lead.

The lead became three in the second inning at Sydney Kazuska crossed the plate following a single by Kayla Lindquist. Lindquist would score two batters later after an RBI double by Semeniuk.

The Saints got on the board in the fourth courtesy of a RBI single to left by Kallie Desjarlais. The run was scored by tournament all-star Georgiou who hit a two-out double to get on base.

St. Clair took the lead in the fifth with a three-run inning which began when Cortnee Burgess reached on an error. Lindquist would later walk before teammate Lisa Ternosky reached on a base on balls. With the bases loaded and two outs, Georgiou came through in the clutch with a triple to right centre to clear the bases and give her team a 4-3 lead.

Kayla MacLean and Bryant-Officer scored in the fifth on a two-out single by Jessica Pike. In the sixth, Durham added a run on a wild pitch and a home run to straightaway centre by Semeniuk to complete the scoring.

Burgess went 2-for-3 and Georgiou batted 2-for-4 with three RBIs for the Saints. OCAA top batter Semeniuk went 3-for-3 with two RBIs while teammate Pike batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs for the Lords.

Durham will play the Humber Hawks at 1 p.m. today for the gold medal. If the Lords win, the teams will play a second game at 3 p.m. to decide the OCAA fastball championship. The Saints were awarded the bronze medal in defeat.

Source: St. Clair College