ST. CLAIR 8, CONESTOGA 2

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - The St. Clair Saints and Conestoga Condors faced off in the second game of this weekend's OCAA championship, and Alexa Georgiou spun a gem for the Saints in an 8-2 victory.

St. Clair came into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and lived up to its pre-tournament billing with a solid performance against the over-matched Condors. The Saints had finished the regular season with only one loss, and they showed why this afternoon.

The Condors went down quietly in the top of the first, with a couple of pop-ups and a ground ball quickly ending their half of the frame. Durham struck immediately in the bottom of the inning, a two-run double off the bat of clean-up hitter Skyler Patterson giving them the early lead.

After the two runs crossed, both teams starters settled in and began to deal. The Condors were sat down in order again in the second, and it was clear runs would be at a premium. Conestoga's starting pitcher Olivia Butler confounded the Lords hitters in the bottom of the inning, mixing in some off speed pitches that seemed to throw off the Saints timing at the plate. Through two the Saints held a 2-0 lead and it looked like a pitcher's duel may have been in the cards.

For the third consecutive inning, St. Clair's Georgiou sat down the Conestoga batters 1-2-3 and you could sense the red and white becoming frustrated at the plate. The Saints would add some cushion in the bottom of the third, as Amelia Maniuk led off the inning with a triple. She was quickly driven in on a Georgiou double, who was doing it all – pitching a beauty and getting it done at the plate. Georgiou would soon score on a Patteson RBI, and Kallie Desjalais followed that up with a two-run double to give St. Clair a commanding 6-0 lead.

Mackenzie Ainlay finally put Conestoga on the board in the top of the fourth, bringing the Condors within five. Unfortunately for the Condors, St. Clair would put a quick close to any thoughts of a comeback in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two runs on the back of a Lisa Ternosky line drive and Sara Bondy sacrifice. The Condors added a run in the top of the seventh, but that was all they could muster.

Next up for Conestoga is a win or go home matchup with Durham at 5:20 p.m., while the Saints will face Humber at 7 p.m. with a guaranteed trip to the gold medal game on the line.

Players of the Game were Stephanie Baril for Conestoga and Skylar Patterson, who went 4-4, for the Saints.

Source: Humber College