The No. 5 Lancers continued their strong season start with a grueling 6-game weekend, coming away with a 5-1 record. The blue & gold won both games against Waterloo (8-0 and 5-4), won both against Guelph (3-1 and 13-12), and split with Laurier (losing 5-2 and winning 9-8). 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED FRIDAY
The Lancers started the weekend playing against the Waterloo Warriors, who began the night tied with the Blue & Gold in the standings. The Lancers came out firing and scored in the top of the 1st on a double from McKay Colombe to score Rylie Straus.
 
The following inning, a triple from Lauren Hickey and a single from Soleen DePape cashed two more runs to build the Lancer lead. Emma Hanley had 2 singles and 3 RBIs in the following few innings to keep the rally going. Other highlights of the game include a triple to the fence from McKay Colombe and singles from Lauren Hickey and Soleen DePape to bring the game into a mercy situation. From the mound, Megan Lozinski gave up 0 runs on 4 hits with 5 strikeouts. 
 
The Warriors came ready to fight in the second game of the double header, putting up 4 runs in the top of the 1st inning. Not a team to give up, the blue & gold fought back with timely hits from Ella Duncan-Reda and Megan Lozinski to bring the Warrior lead down to 1. The next few innings were a pitcher's duel in which neither team could bring a run around until Megan Lozinski hit a single in the 6th inning and her pinch runner, Elise Stammler, was brought around on a single from Jacqueline Pento and a sacrifice fly from Soleen DePape.  
The game went into the final inning tied 4-4. Solid defence and great pitching allowed the Lancers to go into their last wraps with momentum and confidence. Rylie Straus singled to center field before McKay Colombe was intentionally walked. Ella Duncan-Reda hit a beautiful walk-off line drive to end the game. Morgan Maxey collected the win from the mound, with 5 strikeouts over 7 innings of work. It was a great comeback win in which every member of the team got in the game and contributed! 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED SATURDAY

Coming off a strong start to the weekend, the Lancers came out of the gates ready to keep the momentum going against the Guelph Gryphons. A single from Cylee Hickey, a sacrifice bunt from Soleen DePape, and a single from McKay Colombe put the Lancers up by one run until the 7th inning when they broke through a tough Gryphons defence to tack on some insurance runs. The latter-inning rally was sparked by Ella Duncan-Reda drawing a walk, Morgan Maxey doubling, and Cylee Hickey singling to cash 2 more runs. Up by 3 going into the last inning, the Blue & Gold only gave up 1 run in the final frame to secure the win. Megan Lozinski earned the win on the mound, giving up 1 run and striking out 3.  

In similar fashion to the previous night, the Lancers' opponents came out of the gates looking for revenge. The Gryphons put up 2 runs in the 1st inning and the Lancers responded with a run of their own on a triple from McKay Colombe to score Soleen DePape who reached base by drawing a walk. The game continued as a back-and-forth battle for a hint of what was to come as timely hits, well-placed bunts, and discipline at the plate allowed both teams to capitalize and trade runs. At the end of the regulation 7 innings, the game was tied and was sent to extra innings with International Tie-Breaker rules. Both teams cashed a run in the 8th inning to send the game to a 9th. Guelph scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th and put the pressure on the Lancers who still had their last wraps. A triple from Emma Hanley, bunt singles from Morgan Maxey and Tia Nelson, and a walk-off single from Cylee Hickey sealed the deal and gave the Lancers the well-earned win. On the mound, Morgan Maxey started the game for 5 innings with Aubrey Johnson coming in relief for the final 4 innings to earn the win. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED SUNDAY
On the final day of a busy weekend, the Lancers were met with the Laurier Golden Hawks who were just below them in the standings. Laurier pounced on the ball early and went up by 2 runs before the Lancers responded with a run of their own off of a single from Jacqueline Pento to knock in Soleen DePape who drew a walk to get on base. The Golden Hawks expanded their lead in the 5th and 6th innings to go up by 4 runs heading into the last inning. Not a team to give up easily, the Blue & Gold cashed in another run from singles by Aubrey Johnson and Morgan Maxey but unfortunately couldn't complete the comeback like they had the previous 2 days. 

Looking for redemption after their first defeat of the weekend, the Lancers started strong by scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning on a single from Lauren Hickey, a sacrifice fly from Rylie Straus, and capitalizing on some errors from the Golden Hawks. Another rally in the 3rd inning tacked on another 2 runs for the Blue & Gold with hits from McKay Colombe, Emma Hanley, Megan Lozinski, and Rylie Straus. After Laurier responded with a run of their own, the Lancers took advantage of multiple walks in the 4th inning and a double from Megan Lozinski to put them up 8-1 against the Hawks. Not a team to go down easily, Laurier amounted a great comeback and tied the game 8-8 by the top of the 7th inning. With their last wraps as home team, the Lancers manufactured the winning run with Cylee Hickey and Soleen DePape drawing walks with Ella Duncan-Reda hitting a walk-off double to win the game.  
 
NOTABLE WEEKEND STATS
McKay Colombe ended the weekend with a .476 batting average with 5 singles, 3 doubles, 2 triples, and 7 RBIs. Ella Duncan-Reda had a .417 batting average with a .611 on base percentage and hitting the walk-off game winner in 2 games.  
 
UP NEXT
Windsor will hit the road once again next weekend for their final road trip of the regular season. The Lancers will face the Western Mustangs in London on Saturday, September 23rd at 2:00pm & 4:00pm.