[Alsfastball] University of Ottawa Softball (Women)

[Al Doran]

From: "Scott Searle" <scotts_43 at hotmail.com>
To: fastball at pmihrm.com
Subject: University of Ottawa Softball (Women)
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 15:51:12 +0000


OTTAWA, ON

Gee Gees Clinch Playoff Spot

The Gee Gees secured their spot in the League Championship tournament in 
Guelph over the weekend with 3 wins in London to push their overall record 
to 10-2. The team suffered their first two losses of the year against 
Waterloo and the host team Western. The team now shares first place overall 
with Western and Windsor. The theme of the weekend was resiliency as the 
team found itself behind in the score a few times but always stayed in the 
game and kept fighting.

The team opened their weekend against the Lancers from Windsor. The Gee 
Gees were eager for revenge as it was Windsor that knocked the Garnet and 
Grey out of their own championship tournament last year. Jillian Taylor 
took the ball for the club and went 7 strong innings allowing only one run 
to a very strong Windsor squad. The team fell behind early 1-0 but were 
making solid contact without seeing the results. Danna Masters and Sam 
Pantalone reached base in the 7th to bring Lindsey McLaughlin to the plate 
with a chance to win the game. Lindsey launched a ball over the Left Field 
fence to put the team ahead for good. This was Lindseys first over the 
fence homerun, and she picked a great time to do it. The offense kept 
rolling as they put across another run to end the game 4-1. Sarah Thompson 
had a very good game behind the plate working with her summer teammate and 
keeping the Lancer hitters off balance.

The Gee Gees played their next game right away against their cross town 
rivals from Carleton. Ashley Sands was in the circle for the team and 
pitched a very solid game. Uncharacteristic physical and mental errors 
plagued the team in the early going as they allowed the Ravens to jump to a 
4-0 lead. They shook the cobwebs loose in the home half of the 1st inning 
to get the lead back with 4 runs and the offense took over. Lindsey 
McLaughlin continued her torrid pace along with Nicky Dunlop, Jen Leppard, 
and Allison Hibbet all turning in excellent performances. Ashley helped her 
own cause with a 2 run double in the 6th inning. An excellent offensive 
performance by a team that is growing to be known for pitching and defense. 
Bad news from the game came as Pam Hrick was scoring on an inflield single. 
An errant throw caught her on her arm which caused it to immediately swell. 
She left the team to receive medical attention but her return date is 
unknown. All team staff and athletes hope for a return as quick as possible.

The third game of the day was scheduled for 5:00, Eastern Time, a fact that 
was evidently not communicated to the umpires. The officials for the game 
demanded the team start the game 15 minutes before the scheduled start time 
which would have cut short the teams warm up. The Gee Gee starter, Lynn 
Kearns told the umpires she wasn't ready and could not go until the 
official time but they refused to listen. After a quick discussion, the 
umpire ejected me and again demanded the team start early. From what I 
understand the team played well but lost to a very strong team from 
Waterloo 1-0. Lynn Kearns pitched half the game ( after a complete warm 
up!!!) and Jillian Taylor provided relief for the last two innings. Further 
details are unavailable as I was stuck on another diamond with binoculars 
trying to catch a glimpse of the first game in Ottawa's history that I 
could not watch. The team unceremoniously voted and blamed the loss on me 
for distracting them from the task at hand. Thanks guys.

On a more serious note as the league continues to grow it is critically 
important that we demand more from umpires and facilities. The league now 
boasts some of Ontario's top softball players, athletes that have competed 
in national and international tournaments. These elite athletes cannot 
perform at their highest levels with substandard facilities or officials. 
Athletes risk injury when asked to rush warmups, particularly in the cold 
weather that our season is played. As we continue to work hard to market 
and grow our league it is crucial to work to improve the leagues image. On 
another note the Gee Gees would like to thanks Pete Lemon and Kevin Gordon 
as well as all the hosts for an excellent host weekend. Their effort showed 
as they did a fantastic job. Thanks guys.

The team opened Sunday with an in-division game against Queens. Again the 
team fell behind the eight-ball in Elissa Sivel's first start as a Gee Gee. 
Elissa is in her first year with the team and the coaches and fans look 
forward to her long career in the garnet and grey. Again the offense 
responded with a vengeance with 5 runs in the first inning to retake the 
lead as they raced to an 11-6 game. Ashley Sands kept hitting well with 
another pair of singles. Jen Leppard had another strong game offensively 
with a pair of doubles.
Sam Pantalone had another good game with 3 hits and Erin Durant made a 
great catch in right field to go along with a pair of singles.

The final game of the weekend was against the hosts, UWO. The team again 
fell behind early but fought to stay in the game. A 4-0 Western lead was 
shrunk to 1 behind a 3 run Gee Gee 4th keyed by a Lindsey McLaughlin double 
and Jen Leppard single. Lynn Kearns took the ball for the Gee Gees and was 
cruising for 4 innings before being relieved by Jillian Taylor in the 4th. 
Western stretched their lead to 5-3, but the Gee Gees answered again to 
bring the score to 5-4. A two run double in the 7th inning by Western put 
the game out of reach for the Gee Gees as it finished 7-4. One of the best 
games in the year that had both teams hitting well and the fans on their 
feet. We look forward to a rematch in Guelph.

The team has Thanksgiving off before hosting Queens and Carleton Oct. 15 
and 16 at Alexander Grove Park in Stittsville for the last 5 games of the 
regular season before moving on to the OIWFA Championships in Guelph. Fan 
support would be greatly appreciated at the Grove, directions can be found 
on our website. Keep checking the website for updates and news. See you at 
the Grove!



  From: "Scott Searle" <scotts_43 at hotmail.com>



  Als Fastball List
*Email: fastball at pmihrm.com
http://www.AlsFastball.com/
http://www.ISCfastball.com/
NEWS: http://fastpitchwest.com/alsfastball
    eScribe is down, and may be out