The University of Windsor Lancers softball team finished off the OUS regular season this past weekend with a road trip to London and Waterloo, Ont.. The team split with both the Western Mustangs on Saturday (Oct. 4) and the Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday (Oct. 5). The Lancers will head into the OUS playoffs ranked third in the west division.
SATURDAY
The Lancers hit the 401 to face Western on Saturday for a doubleheader against the top-ranked Mustangs. Western came out firing, scoring two runs in the first inning. From this point on, the game was a pitcher's duel. Both teams traded hits, but neither could capitalize. The lone Lancer run came in the sixth inning when
Jayde Melhuish-McGahan reached on an error and
Emma Hanley drove her in. Despite the late-inning push from the Lancers, the Mustangs took the first game 2-1.
In game two of the doubleheader, the Lancers came out looking for revenge. They scored in the bottom half of the first inning with
Chloe Jones driving in Melhuish-McGahan on a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the third, the blue and gold added to their lead with singles from
Tia Nelson,
Emma Hanley, and Ally Dufour to bring the lead to three runs. The Mustangs tied things up in the fifth inning and took the lead in the sixth. A late charge from the Lancers in the bottom of the seventh tied the game again with singles from Nelson, Melhuish-McGahan, and Jones as well as a walk to
Ella Duncan-Reda and a sacrifice fly from Hanley. The Mustangs managed to squeeze in a run in their half of extra innings, but the blue and gold pushed two runs across to win in walk-off fashion. The Lancer runs came from an intentional walk to Melhuish-McGahan and singles from
Sienna Gale, Duncan-Reda, and Hanley to seal the win.
Ally Dufour, Jones, and Melhuish-McGahan put together a strong combined performance from the circle to keep Western in check. Melhuish-McGahan earned the win with three hits given up in two innings of work.
SUNDAY
Sunday's matchup with the Laurier Golden Hawks was a battle for second place in the division in which the Lancers had to win both to finish above Laurier. The game began as a classic pitcher's duel, with neither team scoring until the fifth inning. Singles from Nelson, Melhuish-McGahan, Duncan-Reda, and Hanley put pressure on the Golden Hawks defense, and the Lancers went up 4-0. Laurier responded with a run, but the blue and gold added to their lead in the seventh inning on singles from Ava Merrit,
Soleen DePape, and Melhuish-McGahan to make the final score 7-1.
Melhuish-McGahan earned the win from the mound with only two hits and one unearned run allowed over seven innings of work.
In game two, Laurier came out with something to prove as they began piling on runs in the second inning and didn't look back, winning 9-0 and securing second place in the OUS West Division heading into the playoffs. Highlights for the Lancers included hits from Duncan-Reda and DePape.
UP NEXT
The Lancers will now travel to Calgary, Alta. next weekend to participate in the CCSA National Championships against the best college and university teams in the country. Tune into Game Changer to cheer them on!
