The Durham College (DC) women’s softball team is back on top after winning the 2015 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championship. The host Lords defeated the Humber Hawks 7-3 on October 24 at Durham Field to win the OCAA title, the program’s first since 2011.
 
Championship MVP Caitlyn Omelanchuk pitched a complete game for Durham, allowing three earned runs on nine hits and six walks in the win. She struck out three in the final.
 
“It’s always good to win at home, but it’s also good to win anywhere,” said head coach Jim Nemish. “We’ve been looking to put a new championship sign up there on the outfield fence; it’s been a few years. It’s just special to win at home on your home field.”
 
At the plate, player of the game Justine Pike led the Lords, going 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Rebecca Ropp was also named a tournament all-star for DC, finishing the tournament with a .538 batting average.
 
DC made their way to the championship final by defeating the Canadian Collegiate Softball Association (CCSA) champion St. Clair Saints, 8-5 and Fanshawe Falcons, 11-3 on Friday.
 
“They’re a young team and we’ve been up and down all season, but last Sunday we had a good talk with the girls and told them they’ve got to play with heart,” said Nemish. “This game is played with heart, discipline and being able to make adjustments. They bought into that and we went on a roll, sweeping Fanshawe, Conestoga and then went undefeated. You can use the cliché ‘peaked at the right time,’ but the girls played solid ball and believed in themselves this weekend.”