Saints playing for gold today
The St. Clair Saints keep falling behind and they keep finding a way to get the job done.
Fresh off winning the CCSA national championship two weekends ago, the Saints have rallied in all three of their games at the OCAA provincial championships at The St. Clair Sports Park. They Saints play for gold today at 1pm in the two-game knockout format.
"We have preached to the team all year to just play solid defence and with our pitching and bats, we will be tough to beat. We have been consistent and played great as a team." said head coach Dwayne Dawson after Friday night's thrilling 8-2 win over Humber.
The tournament started Thursday against Fanshawe. Trailing 1-0, Ashley Marchand tied it with a solo homer in the sixth. Fanshawe went back ahead 2-1 in the top of the eighth, but Madison Phillips singled in the tying run. Emily Owen followed with a two-run walk-off homer for a 4-2 win.
On Friday afternoon, Durham’s Becca Sawyer homered in the first inning and energetically celebrated during her base trot but that was all Durham got for a while. The Saints answered with eight straight runs. Ada Umerah hit a two-run homer, Zahnyah Jackson added a solo shot, and Micayla Dales drove in two runs in an 8-2 win.
Then came Humber Friday night. The Hawks led 2-0 after five innings before St. Clair erupted for eight runs in the sixth. Dales tied it with a two-run single, Phillips and Owen each drove in a run, and Umerah capped the inning with a two-run single for another 8-2 win.
"The sixth inning the team gelled up and down the lineup, everyone hitting and we rolled with complete team energy." Dawson told PowerplayWindsor.com
The Saints finished the regular season third at 15-6, behind Durham and Humber. They’ve now beaten both on the way to the final.
Tournament Highlights so far:
Emily Owen: Walk-off two-run homer in the eighth inning to beat Fanshawe. She also drove in a run in the big inning against Humber.
Ashley Marchand: Solo homer to tie Fanshawe in the sixth, plus an RBI in each of the other two games.
Ada Umerah: Two-run homer against Durham and a two-run single to cap the eight-run inning against Humber.
Micayla Dales: Four RBIs over the Durham and Humber games, including the two-run single that tied Humber.
Madison Phillips: An RBI in all three games, including the hit that tied Fanshawe in the eighth.
A win today would add a provincial title to the national banner, at home. "We need to keep the same focus, stay the course, do our job and play hard. If we keep the focus it should be some good softball to watch.