The Lancer softball team captured their first provincial medal in ten years with a bronze medal performance at the OUS Championships over the weekend at the Napanee Fairgrounds. The double-elimination tournament was hosted by the Queen's Gaels and included the top eight university teams in the province.
 
Saturday – Game 1
A second-place regular season finish in the west division meant that the Lancers had to take on the host Queen's Gaels in their first game on Saturday morning. The blue & gold struggled with fantastic pitching from the Gaels and could not cash any runs. Timely hitting from the Gaels allowed them to take the game 2-0. Jayde Melhuish-McGahan pitched a complete game, giving up five hits and one earned run over seven innings.
 
Saturday – Game 2
With their backs against the wall and another loss meaning the end of their season, the Lancers were matched up with the Western Mustangs on Saturday afternoon. Windsor struck early in the bottom of the first inning to go ahead 1-0 with singles from Jayde Melhuish-McGahan, McKay Colombe, and Ella Duncan-Reda. They added to their lead in the third inning with singles from Cylee Hickey, Emma Hanley, and McKay Colombe to make the score 3-0.
 
A pitcher's duel ensued and both team's defense shined to keep the remainder of the game scoreless. Allison Dufour earned the win, giving up four hits and no runs over the course of the game.
 
Saturday – Game 3
The blue & gold kept the train rolling against the York Lions, cashing runs early with a single from Cylee Hickey and a homerun from Emma Hanley to come to an early 2-0 lead. York responded immediately with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. In the third, Jayde Melhuish-McGahan drew a walk, Cylee Hickey tripled, Emma Hanley hit a sacrifice fly, and Ally Dufour singles to increase the Lancer lead to 5-2. Once again, the Lions responded and tied the game in the bottom of the inning.
 
After that, the blue & gold really kicked it into gear offensively and defensively to tack on six unanswered runs and win the game 11-5. Jayde Melhuish-McGahan earned the win, giving up four earned runs and striking out five throughout the game.
 
Sunday – Game 1
With 4 teams remaining in the tournament, another win meant a guaranteed medal on Sunday morning. The Queen's Gaels, who proved to be a worthy opponent less then 24 hours earlier, were matched up with the Lancers and both teams came ready to play. The Gaels used the same pitcher that Windsor struggled with the day before, but the blue & gold made the necessary adjustments and hit extremely well. Cylee Hickey opened the scoring by crossing the plate on an Emma Hanley double.
 
In the fourth inning, Emma Hanley hits a home run to cash another three runs. In her next at bat, Emma Hanley hits a triple to once again cash Cylee Hickey before Breanna Lee doubled to score the final runs needed for a 7-0 mercy rule victory and a guaranteed medal. Ally Dufour earned the win, giving up only one hit over the five-inning game.
 
Sunday – Game 2
Sunday's second game consisted of a top two west division team match-up against the Laurier Golden Hawks. Laurier came out hot, scoring three runs in the second inning. An Ally Dufour single and Soleen DePape double allowed the Lancers to respond and make the score 3-1.
 
Laurier continued showing off their bats while the Lancers could not find momentum against the off-speed pitching of the Golden Hawks. Laurier was up 7-1 going into the final inning, but Windsor responded with a rally consisting of a single from Ally Dufour and doubles from Aubrey Johnson and Lauren Hickey to make the score 7-3. Unfortunately, the Lancer comeback fell short, and the final score was 7-3, but it was enough to secure a provincial bronze medal!
 
The future is extremely bright for this young team! Stay tuned to goLancers.ca and the team's social media for next season's scheduling information.