Gil Read Tournament to be designated ISC II Eastern Ontario 2009 Qualifier

The ISC has announced that the Gil Read tournament will be the 2009 Eastern Ontario ISC II Qualifier.

June 19-21, 2009
Entry fee: $350 payable to ISC Canada East
Winner will receive a berth to the 2009 ISC II ToC in Quad Cities, IA-IL + travel money
Additional berths MAY be available. Double knockout format.

I'll post more details once available.

Silver Lining ends Bronze Age for Gee-Gees

from Scott Searle

The Gee-Gees travelled to Waterloo on Friday night knowing that they were in tough, kicking off their Championship schedule against the defending champion Laurier Golden Hawks. The Golden Hawks are coming off a silver medal at last weeks inaugural University National Championships and are perennially one of the toughest teams in the OIWFA. The Gee-Gees fell behind early as an error led to a Laurier run in the first, before Jillian Taylor settled down to throw a gem. Jill allowed 2 runs on 6 hits to one of the top offensive teams in Ontario. The offense kicked into gear in the 3rd inning with 4 hits from the Gee-Gees own Murderers Row as Vanessa Homiak, Mallory Watson, Laura Gallant, and Laura Skiperis as the team raced for 3 runs which would be the difference maker. The Gees threatened again in the 5th inning leaving the bases loaded and Laurier mounted a comeback in the bottom of the 7th scoring a run to push the score to 3-2 and leaving 2 runners on base when Ottawa recorded the 3rd out. A very strong start for the Gee-Gees as they chased their second OIWFA Championship.

The Gee-Gees continued their strong weekend with a win over a very tough Queens team. Queens jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning before the Gee-Gees responded with 5 of their own in the second to close the scoring and take a 5-4 victory. The damage was done behind 5 hits in a row from the Gee-Gees, Laura Skiperis was an offensive star with a 2/3 afternoon and Emily Ernst picked up the win and helped her own cause with a 2/3 outing at the plate. After a rough start Emily settled down to allow only 1 hit in the next 6 innings to pick up the win.

The team looked to clinch first spot in their pool with a win over the Windsor Lancers in the first matchup between these two teams in 2008. Again, the Gee-Gees fell behind early as Windsor jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first inning. The Gee-Geees responded immediately as Vanessa Homiak singled and was driven in by Mallory Watson. Radha Khosla and Rachel Legaspi were both stars against their old team as Radha exploded for a ¾ outing with a run scored, and Rachel scampered to 2 hits and a walk. Amanda Toll came off the bench and drove in the teams 4th run in the bottom of the 6th inning. Amanda has proven to be a deadly pinch hitter with 6 hits off the bench this year.

At the OIWFA Banquet, Jillian Taylor and Vanessa Homiak were awarded team MVP honours, and Jillian was named Top Pitcher in the OIWFA Championship tournament.

The Gee-Geed advanced directly to the semi-final and were scheduled to play the winner of McMaster and Windsor. McMaster mounted a dramatic comeback in the bottom of the 7th to take a gutsy 3-2 victory. The Gee-Gees sent Jillian Taylor to the circle and she allowed 1 run in the first inning before settling in and allowing only 4 hits the rest of the game as the Gee-Gees stole a 6-1 victory. Laura Gallant and Laura Skiperis drove the offense for the Gees with 3 hits each, Mallory Watson drove in a pair of runs with a bloop hit in the 6th inning. The Gee-Gees showed off their versatility as a pair of bunt singles, followed by a double-steal and a 2 RBI single from Laura Gallant put the game out of reach.

The team moved into their first OIWFA Championship game since 2004, despite finishing on the podium for 4 straight years against the top-ranked University of Western Ontario Mustangs. The Gee-Gees appeared to be in control as they got their first two batters on base and scored a run in the first inning. They had runners on 1st and 3rd with red-hot Laura Gallant at the plate and Western pitcher Kristina Lemon appeared to make a play on Mallory Watson who was between 1st and 2nd base, the home plate umpire disagreed and called Radha Khosla on 3rd base out for leadoff, killing the rally. With 2 outs, back-to-back hits from Laura Gallant and Laura Skiperis could not score a run and the Gee-Gees offense went quiet for the rest of the afternoon. The Gee-Gees could not push back against the potent Western offense as they raced to 5 runs, uncharacteristic defensive and baserunning lapses cost the Gee-Gees opportunities and gave the talented Western hiters too much time to drive in runs. The team would like to congratulate Pete Lemon and the rest of the Mustangs on a very well deserved Championship.

Second place was a disappointing finish to a very successful season for the garnet and grey that exceeded all expectations. Despite losing 6 starters from the 2007 team, the 2008 Gee-Gees recorded more wins and finished higher in the regular season as well as the Championship tournament. Strong kudos must go out to an elite group of leaders on the team who helped stay the course in some rough waters.

The Gee-Gees will move into their talent identification phase to begin recruiting new athletes for the 2009 season as they will chase their 100th regular season victory, and the elusive OIWFA Championship.

Another season over....

Well, another fastball season in the books. Hard to believe, but there it is - gone.

Thanks to all the readers that dropped by here this year - 55,262 page impresssions (whatever the heck that means) since January 1st.

Thanks as well to all the contributors especially Sam, Spud, Eric, Andrew, Moe, Tony, the fastball hot corner guy, and anyone else who sent me stuff all year.

I'd also like to note my appreciation to all the players, fans, umps, etc. that took time to come up to me and say or email "I like the blog". I think the most out of the blue was 'Jim Bob' that came up to me at a Quizno's in Kemptville and asked me if I was the guy that ran "that blog" and commented how much he enjoyed keeping up on fastball in the area as he didn't play anymore.

Anyway, c'mon back once in a while in the offseason as I will post information as it gets sent in. I encourage any team or league that wants to announce new teams, new 'signings', tournament announcements or anything at all of interest to the fastball community to send it on to me at fastball [at] fitroyharbour.com or my work email if you have it.

I think the GOFL is in for a few different looks next season - as things get confirmed, I'll post here. Just remember, no rumours on this site. If you want something posted you have to attach your name to it (only I get to be 'kind of' anonymous!).

See everyone at the ballpark in 2009.

FF

Cornwall team going to Masters is Australia

Looks like there is another team from the area planning on going to Australia as well.

Undefeated Final Weekend for Gee-Gees

from Scott Searle

The Gee-Gees wrapped up the 2008 campaign with a 4-0 weekend after four close games against tough opponents. They continued their tradition of supporting good causes off the field by wearing wire bracelets made in Internal Displacement Camps in Northern Uganda by child soldiers who have been forced to fight in a brutal civil war in that country. Revenue generated from sale of the bracelets goes directly to supplementing food and water supplies in the Camp, as well as provides money that pays for scholarships for 90 former child soldiers. For further information on this noble cause; please visit www.invisiblechildren.com

The Gee-Gees scampered to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning against rival York University and never looked back. Radha Khosla drew a walk before back-to-back singles from Vanessa Homiak and Mallory Watson drove in the first run of the evening. That would be all the support Gee-Gees starter Jillian Taylor would need as she held York to 1 hit over 7 innings, picking up 11 strikeouts and allowing only 3 walks in one of her most complete performances of the year. If double plays are indeed a pitchers best friend, Jillian and Emily Ernst have had a lot of friends this year as the Gee-Gees middle infield has been extremely successful at rolling double plays. The York starter was effective at keeping the potent Gee-Gees offense at bay until the 4th inning when Laura Gallant led off with a double before Elissa Sivel drove her in with a single to complete the scoring.

The Garnet and Grey appeared frustrated with their lack of offensive output and released their frustration in the second game matching their output from Game 1 in the first inning of play jumping to a 2-0 lead behind 4 consecutive hits from Vanessa Homiak, Mallory Watson, Laura Gallant and Laura Skiperis. Mallory Watson did most of the damage with a 4/4 night picking up 3 RBIʼs and scoring 3 runs herself. Diana Snow picked up a RBI single in the top of the 6th inning to finish the scoring. Jillian Taylor took the ball again for the Gee-Gees allowing only 1 run in a complete game performance, picking up 8 strikeouts and scattering 3 hits.

The team had an early morning on Saturday as they raced from downtown to arrive at Alexander Grove Park in Stittsville to host 26 minor athletes in their second Bridge to the Future Clinic of the year. The idea for these clinics was borrowed from the ISC but has been very successful in promoting softball skills to minor athletes. These clinics are a great opportunity for minor athletes to learn softball skills and seek out role models in their own sport in their community. Jillian Taylor took the ball again for the Gee-Gees and ran her record to 9-1 behind a complete game 6 hit performance. The offense continued a strong weekend, batting through the order and scoring 2 runs in the first inning. Jillian Taylor was strong on both sides of the ball with a 3-4 performance at the plate including her first triple of the year and scoring 3 runs. Vanessa Homiak chipped in with a pair of hits including a homerun in the 6th inning, and Mallory Watson continued her torrid pace with 2 hits and a pair of walks as the team went ahead to a 6-2 victory. This was a great game, on a beautiful afternoon in front of about 150 fans, many of whom were minor athletes who stuck around after the clinic to watch the two games

The tide would turn for the Gee-Gees in a classic second game as Queens scored in 2 of the first 3 innings to take a 3-0 lead. These two games marked a home-coming of sorts as Gee-Gees alumni made her first trip home in a Queens uniform. Elissa Sivel came in to the game and pitched 7 innings in relief to pick up an extra innings victory. The Gee-Gees offense appeared sleepy as they looked forward to Thanksgiving Turkey as they managed only 5 hits and no runs into the 6th inning in the face of a very effective performance from the Queens pitcher Erin Mills. Jillian Taylor was an offensive highlight as she was good for a 3/5 performance with a pair of runs scored. The offense arose from their slumber in the 7th inning to push across three runs to knot the score. Amanda Toll came in to the game as a pinch hitter and ignited the rally before being advanced by singles from Rachel Legaspi and Jillian Taylor before back to back hits from Vanessa Homiak and Mallory Watson drove in the 3 runs. A see-saw extra innings saw both teams match each other through the 8th and 9th innings before Laura Gallant and Laura Skiperis got back to back hits in the 10th inning to drive in the winning run. Amanda Toll chipped in again with yet another RBI single to cap off a strong day for the Gee-Gees rookie as the team wrapped up the 2008 campaign with a 6-4 victory over a very strong Golden Gales squad that will attend their first OIWFA Championship next weekend.

The Gee-Gees enter the Championship tournament as the 3rd seed behind a 17-5 record and will seek to improve on their bronze medal performance from 2007.

Stittsville 2008 Championship Photo

Back Row (Left to Right): Robert Craig, Sam Oliver, Adam Maheu, Dan Bradley, Scott Jessiman, Ben Gigliotti, Tyler Nystedt, Darren McCartney

Front Row (Left to Right): Scott Herriot, John Craig, Darren Ladouceur, Dan Jessiman, Darren Featherstone, Ryan Bond

Missing: Scott Parsons, Mike Barrett

GeeGees report

from Scott Searle

Strong Weekend in Waterloo

Strong weekend for the Gee-Gees women's fastball in Waterloo over the weekend in what they hope foreshadows a strong performance at the OIWFA Championships at the same site in 2 weeks. The team took two wins from the Waterloo Warriors and split with the Defending Champion Laurier Golden Hawks.

Emily Ernst got two wins after a two very strong performances. The team jumped to an early lead with a bunt single from Jillian Taylor and a pair of walks before Laura Skiperis drove in a pair of runs with a double. The offence went quiet until the 5th inning where the team pushed across 5 runs to invoke the run rule. Mallory Watson had a great day at the plate with 3 RBIʼs to lead a Gee-Gees offence that saw every starter contribute with a hit. Emily Ernst was very strong in a winning cause scattering 4 hits while picking up 6 strikeouts.

The offence kept rolling in the second half of the twin-bill as they exploded for 14 runs in 4 innings as the run-rule was invoked again. Emily Ernst again picked up the win as she was deadly over 5 innings allowing only 2 hits and no runs. She was supported by great defense in CF by Radha Khosla and a key pick-off from backstop Mallory Watson. Emily helped her own cause with 3 RBIʼs as the whole team had a strong day at the plate. Diana Snow picked up a pair of RBIʼs and 2 hits and Amanda Toll chipped in with a hit. Mallory Watson drove the nail in the coffin with a 3 run triple in the 4th inning.

Emily got the nod again against the Defending OIWFA Champion Laurier Golden Hawks and the owners of the top record in 2008. This should have been two great games between top ranked teams but neither team brought their best game. Laurier jumped to an early 2-0 lead after a pair of walks, 2 hits and an error from the Gee-Gees. The Golden-Hawk offense kept rolling chasing Emily from the game in the 4th inning after a line drive off of her foot. Jill Taylor pitched the final 2 innings but her defense didnʼt improve as the team took their 4th loss of the year 11-5. Mallory Watson was an offensive highlight with a pair of hits including a two run triple and scored two runs herself.

A resurgent squad met Laurier in the second game as Jill Taylor held the top-ranked offense to only 4 runs over 7 innings, picking up 9 strikeouts. The Gee-Gees offense was back with some solid contact over 7 innings before erupting in the bottom of the 6th for 5 runs. Back-to-Back singles from Vanessa Homiak and Radha Khosla started the rally before Mallory Watson drove in both runs with a double. Singles from Laura Skiperis and Elissa Sivel did the rest of the damage as the team went ahead for good to beat the top team in the OIWFA. The Golden-Hawks are travelling to Calgary on Thursday of this week to represent Ontario in the first annual University National Championships and the Gee-Gees would like to wish them the best of luck.

The Gee-Gees are back home this weekend to face York and Queens University. They are once again hosting a Bridge to the Future Clinic on Saturday from 9-11AM at Alexander Grove Park in Stittsville. All minor athletes are welcome.

The team has dedicated their games on Friday to Canadian soldiers and will again wear red to show solidarity with troops overseas.

Friday:
VS York 7:00 and 9:00 PM

Saturday
VS Queens 12:00 and 2:00 PM

Stittsville wins GOFL 2008 Playoff Championship - details

from Sam Oliver

Stittsville Captures 2008 GOFL Title

The Stittsville 56ers beat the defending champions 11-2 on Wednesday night to capture the 2008 GOFL title. Dan Bradley (5IP, 2R, 4H, 8K, 1BB, 1HB) picked up the win in the mercy shortened contest. Dan Konkle (4IP, 7R, 5H, 5K, 6BB, 1HB) gets tagged with the loss with relief from Kyle Olson (2/3IP, 4R, 3H, 2K, 0BB).

After retiring the Easton batters in order in the top half of the first, the 56ers scored three times in their half of the inning to take the lead. Scott Herriot drew a lead off walk to start the attack and took second base on a wild pitch. John Craig singled off of Konkle putting runners at the corners with no one out. Konkle struck out the next Stittsville batter but not before Craig had swiped second base. With Featherstone batting, a wild pitch allowed Herriot to score and moved Craig to 60 feet away. After Featherstone walked to put runners on the corners, Bond hit a chopper towards third that was misplayed allowing Craig to score, once again leaving runners on the corners. Next, Scott Jessiman hit a ground ball to short, but Easton couldn’t turn the double play, allowing Featherstone to score. The inning ended with a ground ball out to first base.

Easton threatened in the second. With one out, Cory Morrison hit a sharp single to left field. Dan Konkle was then hit by a pitch putting runners at first and second. Bradley was able to escape without surrendering a run by striking out the next two Easton batters.

Tyler Nystedt led off the bottom of the second with a walk for the 56ers. Both Bradley and Herriot hit ground balls resulting in outs a second base. Craig then walked to put runners at first and second with two out, but Konkle was able to induce a third ground ball out to end the inning.

Easton got one run back in the top half of the third. Scott Marion led off with a sharply hit single to left field. Bradley struck out the next two batters before issuing a free pass to Todd Fraser. This would prove costly as the next Easton batter, Randy Peck, doubled over the left fielder’s head to score Marion and giving Easton two runners in scoring position with two out. Those two runners would be stranded though when the next batter grounded out to short.

The 56ers added to their lead in the bottom half of the third. Featherstone singled into the whole between third and short, and alertly took second when the ball wasn’t picked up cleanly by the shortstop. After a ground ball out, Scott Jessiman was hit by a pitch putting two runners on. Sam Oliver lined a double into the left center field gap to score both runs, giving Stittsville a 5-1 lead. Oliver would be stranded as Konkle struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

Despite Pat O’Connor reaching base by way of an error, Easton wasn’t able to mount an attack in the top half of the 4th, but Stittsville added two more runs in their half of the inning. Craig started things with a one out single to left field, his second hit of the night. Konkle was able to strike out the next 56er batter for the second out of the inning before Featherstone drew his second walk of the night advancing Craig to second base. Adam Maheu in his first at bat of the series singled up the middle scoring Craig. Back to back walks by Scott Jessiman and Oliver plated Featherstone giving the 56ers a 7-1 lead.

Team Easton scored a run in the top half of the 5th when Todd Fraser waited on a Bradley change up and deposited it into the trees beyond the left field fence.

Kyle Olson replaced Konkle in the pitching circle in the bottom half of the 5th inning. The first batter he faced, Dan Bradley, hit a high fly to right field that confounded the Easton fielder putting Bradley on third with no one out. With one out, John Craig’s third single of the night plated Bradley. Craig moved up a base on an Olson wild pitch and scored when Dan Jessiman singled. Darren McCartney drew a walk and both he and Jessiman advanced a base on an Olson wild pitch. With two out, pinch hitter Darren Ladouceur doubled to right field scoring both Jessiman and McCartney, putting the game out of reach.

For Easton:
Todd Fraser 1 – 2, BB, HR, R, RBI
Randy Peck 1 – 3, 2B, RBI
Cory Morrison 1 – 2, 1B
Scott Marion 1 – 2, 1B, R

For Stittsville:
Scott Herriot 0 – 3, BB, R
John Craig 3 – 3, (3)1B, SB, (3)R, RBI
Dan Jessiman 1 – 4, 1B, R, RBI
Darren Featherstone 1 – 1, 1B, (2)BB, (3)R
Darren McCartney 0 – 0, BB, R
Adam Maheu 1 – 2, 1B, RBI
Scott Jessiman 0 – 1, BB, HB, R
Darren Ladouceur 1 – 1, 2B, (2)RBI
Sam Oliver 1 – 2, 2B, BB, (3)RBI
Dan Bradley 0 – 3, R

GOFL Finals game 4 confirmed for Weds

Game 4 of the GOFL finals, Team Easton at Stittsville will be played at the Grove in Stittsville at 7pm on Wednesday October 8.

Stittsville leads the best of five series 2 games to 1.

World Masters in Australia

with info from Don Cox

There are a group of local players that is putting together a "masters" fastball team to compete in the World Masters in Australia in October, 2009. Players must be 35 years or older.

There are trying to focus on local players and are looking for 14 or 15 guys for a trip of approximately 10 days.

A local group went to this tournament a couple of years ago in Edmonton and had a blast. The tournament, the open ceremonies, etc. were all very well done and they are expecting that to be topped in Sydney. Some players are looking at this as last of their big trips before they hang'em up.

Cost is estimated at about $4,000 which will include flight and accommodations for 10days. They group will also be potentially looking at fundraising opportunities.

If you are interested in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and want more info, contact Don Cox, Cal Medynski or John Lindsey.

Don.Cox [at] corel.com
cmedynski [at] cogeco.ca
john.lindsey [at] alcatel-lucent.com

Game 4 of GOFL Finals

Game 4 is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday at 7pm in Stittsville. Once confirmed, I will post here.

56ers take 2 games to 1 lead in GOFL finals

from Sam Oliver

The Stittsville 56ers took a 2 games to 1 lead in the best of 5 GOFL final with a 6 – 4 win over Easton on Thursday night. Dan Bradley (7IP, 4R, 2ER, 4H, 3BB, 10K) tossed the complete game win and Dan Konkle (7IP, 6R, 4ER, 7H, 4BB, 14K) is tagged with the loss.

Both teams scored a run in the first inning. Scott Herriot led off the game with a fly ball towards the left-centerfield gap. As both outfielders converged the left fielder lost sight of the ball allowing it fall, giving Herriot a double. With John Craig batting, Herriot would advance to third on a Konkle wild pitch. Craig then hit a ball to second which was enough to cash the speedy Herriot from third.

Easton answered in the bottom half of the inning. Kevin Chevrier drew a one out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Todd Fraser and Cory Morrison also worked free passes to load the bases. With Dave Tubman batting, a Dan Bradley wild pitch allowed Chevrier to score, and moved Fraser and Morrison up a base each. Tubman hit a chopper to the right side that Bradley made a nice play on, cutting down Fraser at the plate. Bradley was able to strike out the next Easton batter to escape with minimal damage.

Both teams got their lead off hitters aboard in the second inning, but were unable to score.

The 56ers score twice in the top half of the third. Scott Herriot reached first by way of catcher’s interference. Craig hit a come backer that Konkle fielded cleanly but the throw to second was off the mark giving the 56ers two men on with no outs. Bond then hit a ground ball that should have made an out at second base. Unfortunately for Easton the relay wasn’t handled cleanly at second, allowing Herriot to score and Craig to take third. Darren Featherstone then lifted a fly ball deep enough to left field to score Craig. Scott Jessiman drew a one out walk, and both he and Bond advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. However, the 56ers weren’t able to cash as Konkle escaped the jam with a strike out and ground ball.

Chevrier struck out to lead off the bottom half of the third, but reached when the 56er catcher wasn’t able to handle the change up in the dirt. The speedy Chevrier was then able to get himself into scoring position by stealing second. With two out, Tubman lined a shot over the left fielders head for a double cashing Chevrier. The inning appeared to be over when Konkle hit a lazy fly into right field, but the ball was dropped allowing Tubman to score. Konkle would reach second on a wild pitch and later score on Pat O’Connor’s second single of the night. There was a play on Konkle at the plate, but the Stittsville catcher did not field the throw cleanly. Easton had a 4 – 3 lead after 3 complete innings.

Stittsville would draw even in the 5th. Featherstone led things off with a single. Scott Parsons hit a one out infield single to give the 56ers runners at first and second. A deep fly to centerfield off the bat of Sam Oliver would be enough to move Featherstone to third, allowing him to later score on a Konkle wild pitch.

Neither team could muster any offence in the 6th inning.

The top of the 7th would see Featherstone leading things off again. This time he hit a towering home run to left field which would stand up as the game winning run. Scott Jessiman followed this with a hard hit double and he advanced to third on a wild pitch. Konkle was able to strike out the next batter, but Jessiman would score the insurance run on a Sam Oliver ground ball to second. Despite loading the bases with a walk and an Easton error, Konkle recorded two more strike outs to leave all three runners stranded. Those two runs would be enough though, as Bradley was able to strike out the side in the bottom half of the 7th to preserve the win.

For Stittsville:
Scott Herriot 2 for 4, 1B, 2B, CI, (2)R
John Craig 0 for 5, R, RBI
Darren Featherstone 2 for 3, 1B, HR, SF, (2)R, (2)RBI
Scott Jessiman 1 for 2, 2B, (2)BB, R
Scott Parsons 1 for 4, 1B
Sam Oliver 0 for 4, RBI
Ben Gigliotti 0 for 2, (2)BB
Dan Bradley 1 for 4, 1B

For Easton:
Kevin Chevrier 0 for 3, BB, SB, (2)R
Dave Tubman 1 for 3, 2B, R, RBI
Dan Konkle 0 for 3, R
Pat O’Connor 2 for 3, (2)1B
Scott Marion 1 for 3, 1B

Note: Game 4 time and date is to be determined, likely Tuesday next week. Details to be posted on the blog once available.

GOFL Finals Game 3 on Thursday

Game 3 of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League finals between Stittsville 56ers and Team Easton will be played Thursday at 7pm at the Grove, weather permitting.

The best of five series is tied 1-1.

Gee-Gees Race to 5-1 after hosting Clinic in Ottawa

from Scott Searle

The Gee-Gees kicked off a solid weekend with a pair of big wins over cross-town rival Carleton on Friday night. The sleeping bats from the Garnet and Grey woke up in time to explode for 16 runs in two games to take a pair of wins on Support our Troop Night. For the 3rd year in a row, the Ravens and the Gee-Gees dedicated their Friday night home game to Canadian troops serving overseas.

Jillian Taylor took the ball and was stellar over 5 innings, throwing a 1-hit shutout. The Gees exploded for 3 runs in the first inning and never looked back. Triples from Laura Gallant and Radha Khosla and a perfectly executed squeeze play from Vanessa Homiak were the offensive highlights. The whole Gee-Gees team chipped in as Sarah Healy ripped an RBI double for her first hit in the OIWFA.

In the second half of the twin-bill, Emily Ernst threw very well, scattering 5 hits over 7 innings and allowing no earned runs. The Gee-Gees offence was back to its old tricks as Rachel Legaspi chipped in with a 3/3 performance, and Vanessa Homiak put the icing on the cake with a solo homerun in the 5th. Sarah Healy continued her strong evening with another double.

The Gee-Gees started their day Saturday by hosting their 3rd Annual “Bridge to the Future” Clinic for 15 minor athletes from the Ottawa area. All of these young athletes stayed to cheer on the Garnet and Grey as they took on Brock University in a double-header at home. Jill Taylor took the ball again and stymied the Badger offence, holding them to 2 hits in a 5 inning shutout. Jill allowed no walks and collected 6 strikeouts. The offence continued a strong weekend as they jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. Radha Khosla had a fantastic day at the plate, going 3/3 with two triples and scoring 3 runs. Emily Ernst continued a strong weekend of her own with a pair of hits, including an RBI triple in the first inning. Mallory Watson continued a torrid pace with a 3/3 performance as the team romped to a 7-0 victory.

Emily Ernst got the nod in the second half of the double-header and allowed only 1 earned run in an impressive 17-4 victory. The Gee-Gees offense had a very strong day which compensated for a lacklustre defensive performance. Mallory Watson scored 4 runs herself and Laura Gallant and Elissa Sivel chipped in with strong offensive performances. Both Amanda Toll and Sarah Healy drove in their first runs in a Gee-Gees uniform and Laura Skiperis picked up 4 hits in a winning cause.

The Gee-Gees face McMaster University’s ace Shannon Galea twice on the back end of a 6 game weekend and finished with a 1-1 record on the day. Jillian Taylor again picked up the win for the Gee-Gees in a traditional pitchers duel that was a great show for the fans. Jillian scattered 4 hits in a complete game victory as Vanessa Homiak continued her strong weekend with a 2/3 performance with an RBI. Rachel Legaspi stayed hot with a 3/3 performance and Emily Ernst chipped in with a monster triple in the 6th inning to score the winning run.

Emily got the start in the 6th game of the weekend and pitched well enough to win but her defense was not up to the challenge with 4 errors leading to runs in a 5-4 extra inning loss. Vanessa Homiak was again an offensive star with 3 hits including 2 triples, Laura Gallant and Laura Skiperis both chipped in with RBI doubles.

Overall, it was a successful weekend for the team as they collected 5 wins and ran their overall record to 10-4 while at the same time fulfilling their commitment to community development. The team dedicated their Friday night game to Canadian troops overseas and hosted a very successful clinic for 15 minor athletes. The Gee-Gees travel to Waterloo next weekend to face the Defending Champion Laurier Golden Hawks and the surging Waterloo Warriors.