Durham College won their unprecedented 18th Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) women’s softball title last weekend with an 11-6 victory over the St. Clair Saints in the gold medal game.

A week prior, Durham’s spot at the championship was in jeopardy as they sat in fifth place with eight games remaining in the regular season. The Lords reeled off seven wins over that time to qualify for the championship, where they went 3-0 outscoring their opponents 28-7 en route to the gold medal victory.

“Our bats came alive,” said head coach Jim Nemish. “The coaching staff told the girls that their pitching and defence was where we wanted it to be but they just needed to believe in themselves at the plate. Everyone started hitting and it became contagious. I am so proud of the way we rallied.”

Durham earned a berth in the gold medal game with a 10-3 win over Fanshawe and an 8-4 victory over St. Clair. The Saints beat Fanshawe 7-1 on Saturday morning to get back into gold medal contention.

In the top of the first inning in the finals, St. Clair loaded the bases with none out. Durham managed to get two fly outs and a ground out to keep the Saints off the board.

“That was a real turning point,” said Nemish. “The game could have easily gone the other way but we managed to stay composed and escape the inning.”

Ashley Black (Waterloo, Ont.), who was the Lords hottest pitcher down the stretch, threw the complete game managing to shut down the Saints offence in the first four innings. Following the tournament she was named a championship all-star. Rebecca Ropp (Milverton, Ont.) was 3-for-4 in the championship game with two runs and four RBIs. She was named championship MVP.

Durham finishes the year with a 24-11 overall record, giving Nemish 471 career victories in 28 years on the bench.

For more information please visit durhamlords.com.