HUMBER 3, CONESTOGA 0

With a berth in the OCAA championship on the line, Humber starting pitcher Jessica O'Quinn put the Hawks on her back and sent Conestoga packing. In one of the most impressive performances of the year, O'Quinn dialled it up and delivered a masterpiece that has the Hawks on their way to a grudge match with the St. Clair Saints.

Jessica set the tone early, retiring Conestoga in short order in the top of the first. The Hawks stepped up and gave her some support immediately, with two-hole hitter Shawna Niskanen smashing a triple to right field. Olivia Crossley followed that up with a chopper and was thrown out at first, but an alert Niskanen made a dash for home plate and slid in just under Heather Derbecker's tag. The run put the Hawks up one and the alert base-running was a sign of things to come.

O'Quinn continued to deal, sending Conestoga to the dugout 1-2-3 again in the second. The top of the third would provide the Condors with one of their few opportunities, as they put runners on first and second with none out. After a pop-out and strikeout, Jessica induced a groundout to end the half-inning and send the red and white to the dugout dejected.

Humber would tack on another run thanks to some heady play from centre fielder Kelsey Bardy. After a bloop single dropped in, the ever aggressive Bardy stole second immediately. With everyone in the park knowing what was coming next, Bardy swiped third in a play that wasn't even close. Clearly in Conestoga starter Ashley Ruf's head, Bardy would complete the masterful base running with a sprint to home on a wild pitch to double the Hawks lead.

After a scoreless inning and a half, the blue and gold came to bat in the bottom of the fifth looking to add an insurance run or two. O'Quinn stepped up to the plate and smashed a liner deep to right field, but a great catch was made to rob her of extra bases.

With the Condors opportunities clearly running out, they were sat down in order for the third time on the afternoon in the bottom of the sixth. Humber cashed in a third run in the bottom of the inning thanks to a Jamie Vieira RBI single. Going into the final frame up 3-0, things were looking up for the Hawks.

Conestoga's first two runners reached base, and suddenly it looked like maybe the Condors had one more rally in them. After a groundout and strike out left the Condors down to their last out, a walk brought the go-ahead run to the plate. Tori Taylor stepped up with all eyes on her, and after taking a called first strike sent a flair down the left field line. Shortstop Jacqueline O'Quinn sprinted down the line and made the game-sealing catch to send Humber to the gold medal matchup.

The Hawks will now face St. Clair at 1 p.m., with the Hawks needing two in a row to repeat as OCAA champions. The Condors will head home with the bronze, no doubt proud of the way they battled. Players of the game were Alex Dunbar for Conestoga and Jamie Vieira for Humber.

Source: Humber College