HAMILTON PONTIACS 2005

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

St. Catharines:

Fri., May 27 9:30 p.m. Grimsby Away 8 1

Sat., May 28 10:40 a.m. Oak Ridges Home 7 0

Sat., May 28 1:35 p.m. St. Catharines Home 4 5

Sat., May 28 5:00 p.m. OakRidge Away 10 0

Sun., May 29 2:55 p.m. Aurora Away 6 1

Sun., May 29 5:30 p.m. Clarkson Home 1 0

Won the St. Catharines Invitational Tournament

Newmarket:

Sat., June 11 9:00 a.m. Aurora Home 6 4

Sat., June 11 2:00 p.m. Port Perry Seniors Away 3 2

Sat., June 11 5:00 p.m. Kitchener Seniors Home 1 12

Sun., June 12 8:30 a.m. Newmarket Jrs. Away(OT) 5 0

Sun., June 12 12:40 p.m. Cambridge Jrs. Home 4 7

Finished in the quarter-finals

Ancaster:

Fri., June 17 6:30 p.m. Brampton Juniors Home 0 6

Sat., June 18 9:50 a.m. London Home 3 1

Sat., June 18 3:00 p.m. Aurora Home 7 1

Sun., June 19 8:00 a.m. London Home 4 2

Sun., June 19 11:50 a.m. Brampton Seniors Away 2 3

Finished in quarter-finals. Brampton Seniors won the tournament

Kitchener:

Sat., June 25 8:00 p.m. Cambridge Jrs. Away 0 0

Sat. June 25 12:30 p.m. Stratford Intermediates Away 0 1

Sat., June 25 2:55 p.m. Kitchener Seniors Away 0 2

Sun., June 26 8:00 a.m. Newmarket Jrs. Away 2 0

Sun., June 26 10:00 a.m. Chepstow Home 1 0

Sun., June 26 11:45 a.m. Kitchener Angels Home 6 0

Sun., June 26 3:00 p.m. Cambridge Jrs. Home 4 5

Finished in semi-finals.

Brampton:

Sat., July 9 8:00 a.m. Whitby Seniors Home 0 2

Sat., July 9 9:50 a.m. Cambridge Jrs. Home 0 4

Sat., July 9 3:00 p.m. Oshawa Jrs. Home 5 1

Sat., July 9 8:00 p.m. Kars Jrs. Away 8 0

Sun., July 10 8:30 a.m. Taylor Door Away 5 4

Sun., July 10 10:20 a.m. Brampton Srs. Away 0 7

Finished in quarter-finals. Brampton Srs. Won the tournament.

Innerkip:

Fri., July 22 8:00 p.m. Milverton Juniors Away 8 1

Sat., July 23 8:00 a.m. Folden’s Away 7 0

Sat., July 23 2:00 p.m. New Hamburg Home 5 1

Sun., July 24 10:00 a.m. Byron (not completed) Home 2 1

Decision made to call tournament due to rain – awards split between 4 teams

Provincial Women’s Softball Association Playoffs – Byron:

Fri, Aug. 12 6:30 p.m. Stratford Away 3 2

Sat., Aug. 13 9:00 a.m. Byron Away 10 1

Sat., Aug. 13 7:00 p.m. Port Colborne Away 5 0

Sun., Aug. 14 11:00 a.m. Clarkson Scarletts Away 10 0

Gold – Hamilton; Silver – Clarkson; Bronze – Port Colborne

Eastern Canadian Championships – Charlottetown, PEI:

Fri., Sept. 9 9:00 a.m. Eel Ground (NB3) withdrew from tournament

Fri., Sept. 9 1:00 p.m. Friends of Quebec (Que1) Home 7 0

Sat., Sept. 10 9:00 a.m. Portneuf (Que3) Away 7 6

Sat., Sept. 10 1:00 p.m. 9 Degrees (NB1) Away 13 0

Finished in 1^st place in the pool – bye into the semi-finals

Sun., Sept. 11 10:00 a.m. PEI Away 3 2(OT)

Sun. Sept. 11 4:00 p.m. Clarkson Away 1 5

Gold – Clarkson; Silver – Hamilton; Bronze – Nova Scotia

HAMILTON PONTIACS 2005

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

St. Catharines:

The Hamilton Pontiacs took home the St. Catharines Invitational Tournament Championship on the weekend defeating the Clarkson Scarlett’s 1 to 0 in the Finals. Dawn Vanderhorst pitched the win giving up 2 hits, 1 walk, and having 3 strikeouts. Riekie Dutcher scored the only run of the game on an rbi single by Catherine Lawrence.

The Pontiacs finished 1^st in their section of the Round Robin portion of the tournament with a 3 and 1 record. In the first game, Dianne Trask and Bekki Longboat combined for a 3 hitter with 3 strikeouts to defeat Grimsby 8 to 1. Elizabeth Verbeem and Riekie Dutcher led the Pontiacs at the plate with 3 hits each and scoring 5 of the runs. In the second game, Lori Horvath took the mound and pitched a 2 hitter with 3 strikeouts defeating the Oak Ridges team 7 to 0. Riekie Dutcher lead at the plate with 2 home runs while going 4 for 4. In game 3, the St. Catharines Intermediates handed the Pontiacs their first loss with a 5 to 4 win by rallying in the 5^th inning to score 3 runs on 3 hits and 1 walk against Dawn Vanderhorst. Jen Calbeck led the Pontiacs at the plate going 2 for 3. In the final game of the round robin portion, the Pontiacs defeated Oak Ridge 10 to 0 behind the pitching of Dawn Vanderhorst who threw a 2 hitter and helped the cause by going 2 for 3 at the plate. Lori Kostur homered and was 2 for 3 at the plate.

Moving to the semi-finals, the Pontiacs played Aurora Senior and behind the pitching of Dianne Trask won 6 to 1 to advance to the finals. Dianne helped her cause going 3 for 3 at the plate and scoring twice with Johanna Malisani also going 2 for 4 at the plate and having 2 rbi’s.

Friday, May 27 9:30 p.m. Grimsby Away 8 1

Saturday, May 28 10:30 a.m. Oak Ridges Away 7 0

Saturday, May 28 1:30 p.m. St. Catharines Home 4 5

Saturday, May 28 4:30 p.m. Oak Ridge Away 10 0

Finished 1^st place in section of Round Robin

Sunday, May 29 2:55 p.m. Aurora Away 6 1

Sunday, May 29 4:30 p.m. Clarkson Home 1 0

1^st place overall in tournament

Newmarket:

The Hamilton Pontiacs progressed to the quarter-finals of the Newmarket tournament on the weekend winning 3 of 5 games played. In the first game of the round robin, the Pontiacs defeated the Aurora Seniors 6 to 4 behind the pitching of Bekki Longboat who gave up 4 hits, 4 walks, and 1 strikeout. Dianne Trask provided the run support going 1 for 1 at the plate with 2 walks and scored twice. Christine Bassett was the leader at the plate with 2 rbi’s, scoring once and going 1 for 3. In the next game, the Pontiacs took on the Port Perry Seniors and defeated them 3 to 2 behind the pitching of Dianne Trask who gave up 6 walks and 3 hits while going 1 for 2 at the plate and scoring once. Jen Calbeck led at the plate going 2 for 3 and scoring once with Christine Bassett going 2 for 2 with 1 rbi. Game 3 of the Round Robin was against the Kitchener Seniors and the Pontiacs were soundly defeated 12 to 1 with Lori Horvath taking the loss and numerous errors on the field leading the majority of unearned runs.

In the Elimination side of the tournament, the Pontiacs redeemed themselves by defeating the Newmarket Juniors 5 to 0 by scoring 5 runs in the seventh overtime inning (due to time limit), the majority with two out. Lori Horvath pitched the win giving up three hits, having 5 strikeouts and no walks. Riekie Dutcher led at the plate going 3 for 4 with 2 rbi’s in the 7^th inning. The Pontiacs then moved on to the Cambridge Juniors and lost a close ballgame 7 to 4 behind the pitching of Bekki Longboat. Bekki and Lori Kostur lead at the plate going 2 for 3 and 3 for 3 respectively and each scoring one run.

Sat., June 11 9:00 a.m. Aurora Home 6 4

Sat., June 11 2:00 p.m. Port Perry Seniors Away 3 2

Sat., June 11 5:00 p.m. Kitchener Seniors Home 1 12

Sun., June 12 8:30 a.m. Newmarket Jrs. Away(OT) 5 0

Sun., June 12 12:40 p.m. Cambridge Jrs. Home 4 7

Finished in the quarter-finals

Ancaster:

The Pontiacs began the Ancaster tournament with a 6 to 0 defeat at the bats of the Brampton Juniors on Friday night. Dianne Trask started the game on the mound and gave up all 6 runs within the first three innings on 2 walks, 6 hits and 3 errors. The Pontiacs were shut down with 2 walks, 4 strikeouts and 5 hits. Dawn Vanderhorst then took the mound against the London Intermediates and pitched a 7 hit one run win of 4 to 1. Liz Verbeem led at the plate going 1 for 2 with a walk and scoring once. Debbie Carter also helped the cause going 1/1 with a walk and scoring twice. Lori Horvath then faced the Aurora Seniors and the Pontiacs won 7 to 1 behind her 9 hit pitching, with 3 strikeouts. Liz Verbeem again led at the plate going 4 for 4 and scoring once. Lori also helped her own cause scoring once and going 2 for 3 at the plate. Moving onto the Elimination rounds, the Pontiacs came back again against London on the Sunday morning and defeated them 4 to 2 behind the pitching of Bekki Longboat. Christine Bassett led the way at the plate going 3 for 3 and scoring once with Riekie Dutcher going 2 for 3 and scoring once also. The team then got the opportunity to again face the Brampton Seniors and lost the game 3 to 2 in the bottom of the seventh inning on an error. Dawn Vanderhorst pitched the win with the Pontiacs giving up two early runs in the 2^nd inning and then coming back to tie it in the 6^th on rbi singles by Riekie Dutcher and Catherine Lawrence.

Fri., June 17 6:30 p.m. Brampton Juniors Home 0 6

Sat., June 18 9:50 a.m. London Home 3 1

Sat., June 18 3:00 p.m. Aurora Home 7 1

Sun., June 19 8:00 a.m. London Home 4 2

Sun., June 19 11:50 a.m. Brampton Seniors Away 2 3

Finished in quarter-finals. Brampton Seniors won the tournament

Kitchener:

The Kitchener tournament rules are such that all players bat and every pitcher is only allowed to pitch to a maximum of 12 outs in a game – as a result, it makes scoring and defensive play very interesting in a tournament. The teams partake in a round robin which decides their positioning for the Sunday eliminations. The weekend of Kitchener, temperatures were in the range of 24 to 30 degrees Celsius making it a very hot and humid weekend for ball.

In the first game of the round robin, the Pontiacs came up against the Cambridge Jrs. for the third tournament in a row – and ended with a 0 to 0 tie. Dawn Vanderhorst and Lori Horvath pitched the combined game giving up 3 hits and striking out 5. In the next game, the Pontiacs were shut out 1 to 0 against the Stratford Intermediates as the Stratford team plated an unearned run in the 1^st inning on 1 hit. The Pontiacs then went on to another night game with the Kitchener Seniors – giving up one run in each of the 3^rd and 5^th innings to lose 2 to 0. The Pontiacs main offensive threat was in the second inning when Dawn Vanderhorst led off with a single, followed by Lori Kostur with another single but a strikeout and a fly ball out later, Jen Calbeck singled to load the bases and then an inning ending strikeout ended the scoring chance. The Pontiacs spent the first day of the tournament stranding numerous runners and just unable to plate a run.

In the Sunday elimination rounds, the Pontiacs finally broke free from their shutout score by plating a run in the 5^th and 7^th inning to defeat the Newmarket Juniors 2 to 0. Liz Verbeem and Johanna Malisani led the hit attack going 2 for 3 at the plate. The Pontiacs then followed that up with a tight game against the Chepstow Intermediates plating a run in the 3^rd inning on a single by Jen Calbeck, a sacrifice bunt by Debbie Carter, a ground out which moved Jen to third by Bekki Longboat and a run scoring single by Lori Horvath with two out. The third game in a row for the Pontiacs on a hot Sunday was against the Kitchener Intermediates and the Pontiacs bats had finally heated up to score 6 runs in 6 to 0 win. Riekie Dutcher went 2 for 3 and scored twice with Debbie Carter also going 2 for 2 and Liz Verbeem going 3 for 3 and scoring once each. A game break then ensued as the Pontiacs got out of the sun for about an hour and then retook the field against the Cambridge Juniors. The game was well-played with a resulting 5 to 4 loss in the semi-finals. Liz Verbeem went 2 for 3 and scored twice and Kathy Sitak was 2 for 2 and scored once in a losing cause.

Sat., June 25 8:00 p.m. Cambridge Jrs. Away 0 0

Sat. June 25 12:30 p.m. Stratford Intermediates Away 0 1

Sat., June 25 2:55 p.m. Kitchener Seniors Away 0 2

Sun., June 26 8:00 a.m. Newmarket Jrs. Away 2 0

Sun., June 26 10:00 a.m. Chepstow Home 1 0

Sun., June 26 11:45 a.m. Kitchener Angels Home 6 0

Sun., June 26 3:00 p.m. Cambridge Jrs. Home 4 5

Finished in semi-finals.

Brampton:

Dawn Vanderhorst pitched the 2 to 0 loss against the Whitby Seniors to open up the Brampton tournament. Dawn threw a 4 hitter with 3 strikeouts with the only runs of the game scored in the 6^th inning after the Pontiacs intentionally loaded the bases after runners were on 2^nd and 3^rd with none out. Dawn struck out the next two batters and then a bloop single over second base scored both runs. The Pontiac bats were held to three walks and 3 hits over the 7 innings.

In the next game, the Pontiacs quickly gave up 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 errors in the first inning to fall behind 3 to 0 to the Cambridge Juniors behind the pitching of Lori Horvath. The bats were relatively silent in the game as the Pontiacs came up empty on the scoreboard. The team then rallied against the Oshawa Juniors as they quickly scored 3 runs behind the hitting of Riekie Dutcher and Jen Calbeck who each went 3 for 3 at the plate and scored twice. Dawn Vanderhorst picked up the win pitching a no hitter.

Moving onto the Elimination round on Sunday, the Pontiacs played Taylor Door and came from behind after giving up 4 runs in the 4^th inning to win 5 to 4 in the top of the 7^th. The 3 run comeback in the seventh inning was started by Dawn Vanderhorst who singled, Dianne Trask who walked, and then consecutive singles by Riekie Dutcher, Johanna Malisani, Jen Calbeck and Catherine Lawrence. Lori Horvath started the game on the mound with Dawn Vanderhorst relieving in the 5^th inning. The Pontiacs then went on to their next consecutive game against the Brampton Seniors and were defeated 7 to 0 on a walk-off home-run in the 5^th inning. The bats remained silent in this game with the Pontiacs striking out 9 out of 17 batters, having one walk and one basehit.

Sat., July 9 8:00 a.m. Whitby Seniors Home 0 2

Sat., July 9 9:50 a.m. Cambridge Jrs. Home 0 4

Sat., July 9 3:00 p.m. Oshawa Jrs. Home 5 1

Sat., July 9 8:00 p.m. Kars Jrs. Away 8 0

Sun., July 10 8:30 a.m. Taylor Door Away 5 4

Sun., July 10 10:20 a.m. Brampton Srs. Away 0 7

Finished in quarter-finals. Brampton Srs. Won the tournament.

Innerkip:

The Hamilton Pontiacs were successful in the Innerkip Invitational tournament but unfortunately, the rain intervened in the semi-finals and a decision was made to end the tournament with 4 teams vying for the championship title.

The tournament rules were such that metal cleats were not allowed and, as such, the first game of the tournament was an ‘event’ for the players as appropriate footware resulted in several of the players playing the ‘old-fashioned way’ in running shoes! The Pontiacs, behind the 5 strikeout and 2 hit pitching of Dawn Vanderhorst defeated the Milverton Juniors 8 to 1 in 5 innings. Jen Calbeck led at the plate going 2 for 2 with one being a homerun! Johanna Malisani and Lori Kostur also helped the cause going 2 for 3 and 2 for 2 respectively. The Pontiacs broke the game open in the 2^nd inning of play scoring 6 runs on 6 hits.

Lori Horvath pitched the second game of the tournament throwing a one hitter with 10 strikeouts in 5 innings of play defeating Folden’s 7 to 0. The Pontiacs broke the game open in the 4^th inning with 6 runs scored on 5 hits including a Riekie Dutcher’s second home run of the game adding to a triple later on. Kristy Pearce also had a good day at the plate with a triple and a single and 2 rbi’s.

In the third game, Dawn Vanderhorst pitched the win with 5 strikeouts and 2 hits given up to defeat New Hamburg 6 to 1. Dawn also led at the plate going 3 for 3 and scoring once. Krissy Sebastian was 3 for 3 and scored once with 2 rbi’s.

This moved the Pontiacs into the semi-finals against Byron on Sunday morning – but the weatherman had other opinions. The rain came during the game as the Pontiacs took a 3 to 1 lead behind the pitching of Dawn Vanderhorst. Christine Bassett plated the first run in the 3^rd inning on an rbi hit by Jen Calbeck who later scored on an rbi single by Riekie Dutcher. Although the game was called in the middle of the 6^th inning, given the closeness and competitiveness of the teams involved, the decision was made to split the winnings between the remaining four teams in the tournament.

Fri., July 22 8:00 p.m. Milverton Juniors Away 8 1

Sat., July 23 8:00 a.m. Folden’s Away 7 0

Sat., July 23 2:00 p.m. New Hamburg Home 5 1

Sun., July 24 10:00 a.m. Byron (not completed) Home 2 1

Decision made to call tournament due to rain – travel reimbursement split

HAMILTON PONTIACS TAKE HOME THE GOLD FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW AT

THE PROVINCIAL WOMEN’S SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIPS 2005

The Hamilton Pontiacs took home the Gold Medal at the Provincial Women’s Softball Association Championships for the fourth consecutive year. The Pontiacs went through the tournament undefeated giving up only 3 runs while scoring 28. Elizabeth Verbeem was led the tournament MVP as she led the Pontiacs defensively in centrefield and was the Pontiacs lead-off batter in all games played.

In the first game of the tournament, the Pontiacs got off to a shaky start giving up 2 runs to Stratford in the first three innings and then rebounding to score 3 in the 3^rd and hold on to win 3 to 2. Dawn Vanderhorst pitched the win giving up 7 hits, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. Riekie Dutcher led the Pontiacs at the plate with a 2 out 3 run rbi homerun in the 3^rd inning, after Elizabeth Verbeem and Johanna Malisani had each singled, to take the lead.

In the second game, the Pontiacs got off to a quick start scoring 4 runs in the first inning behind the pitching of Lori Horvath who threw a two hit, two walk, 4 strikeout game to get the 10 to 1 win against the hometown Byron team. Kathy Sitak led at the plate going 3 for 4 with 4 rbi’s. Kristy Pearce also added to the scoreboard by scoring once and singling in 2 rbi’s.

Dawn Vanderhorst then returned to the mound for the third game and pitched the shutout with 7 strikeouts and 2 hits for a 5 to 0 win over the Port Colborne Comettes. Lori Kostur led at the plate going 2 for 2, including a triple, with a walk and scoring twice. Catherine Lawrence was also solid at the plate going 2 for 3 with an rbi.

In the Championship final, Lori Horvath pitched a 2 hitter with 5 strikeouts to win the gold medal game against Clarkson Scarletts 10 to 0. Riekie Dutcher was the leader at the plate going 3 for 3 with a walk and a homerun and scoring all times at the plate. Catherine Lawrence also went 2 for 3 with a walk and scored 3 times. Debbie Carter and Christine Bassett also went 2 for 3 and each had an rbi.

Game Results:

Friday, Aug. 12 6:30 p.m. Stratford Away 3 2

Saturday, Aug. 13 9:00 a.m. Byron Away 10 1

Saturday, Aug. 13 7:00 p.m. Port Colborne Away 5 0

Sunday, Aug. 14 11:00 a.m. Clarkson Scarletts Away 10 0

Gold – Hamilton

Silver – Clarkson

Bronze – Port Colborne

HAMILTON PONTIACS WIN SILVER AT THE EASTERN CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2005

The Hamilton Pontiacs returned from Charlottetown, PEI with the Silver medal from the Eastern Canadian Championship. The Pontiacs role was reversed from the Ontario Championships with the Clarkson Scarletts defeating the Pontiacs in the final to take home the gold medal for Ontario.

On an individual basis, the Pontiacs were well-represented on the All-Star team with Johanna Malisani being selected as the second baseman and Riekie Dutcher being selected as the shortstop. Also, Riekie Dutcher was named MVP of the Round Robin portion of the tournament. Dawn Vanderhorst received recognition for pitching a no-hitter against the team from New Brunswick 1^st place team.

In the first game of the weekend, the Pontiacs were disappointed to learn that the New Brunswick 3^rd place team (the Eel Ground Angels) withdrew from the tournament as their team had a motor vehicle accident on the way to the diamonds. No players were seriously injured but the team was unable to continue for the weekend. As a result, the team played an ‘exhibition game’ against themselves as warm-up for the tournament play.

In the second game of the day, the Pontiacs faced familiar faces in playing the Friends de Montreal, quickly moving ahead by scoring 5 runs in the first inning, and ending with a 7 to 0 score in 5 innings. Dawn Vanderhorst pitched the win striking out 4 and giving up 5 hits. Riekie Dutcher led at the plate going 2 for three with a triple and 2 rbi’s. Dawn Vanderhorst helped her own cause going 2 for 3 along with Jen Calbeck and Kristy Pearce.

Play continued on the Saturday with Lori Horvath taking the mound with relief assistance from Dawn Vanderhorst for a 7 to 6 win against the Portneuf team. Riekie Dutcher again led at the plate going 4 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Catherine Lawrence provided additional offence going 3 for 4 and scoring once

with 3 rbi’s. It was a dramatic come from behind win in the 7^th inning with the Pontiacs losing 6 to 5 to start the inning. Christine Bassett started off the inning with a basehit and Liz Verbeem followed with another single. Johanna Malisani then sacrificed the runners over and Riekie Dutcher got a single to plate the tying and winning run. The Pontiac defense held in the bottom of the 7^th.

Dawn Vanderhorst then returned to the mound and pitched a no hitter with one walk and 8 strikeouts against the New Brunswick first place team – 9 Degrees for a win of 13 to 0. Jen Calbeck led at the plate going 4 for 4 and scoring 4 times. Debbie Carter and Catherine Lawrence were each 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored. Kathy Sitak and Riekie Dutcher were 3 for 4 at the plate.

As a result of going undefeated in the round robin, the Pontiacs finished in 1^st place and received a bye into the semi-final round.

The Semi-Final game was a re-enactment of the gold medal game of 2004 – the Pontiacs versus the hometown PEI Yogi’s. The two teams had played each other twice last year with each team coming away with a win – the Yogi’s in the round robin section and the Pontiacs in the gold medal game.

The game was definitely the highlight of the tournament – with the stands filled with Yogi’s fans and Hamilton being supported vocally by their own great fans as well as the Clarkson Scarletts. The game was very tightly contested with the Pontiacs unable to muster any significant offense against the Yogi’s tight defence. In the first 5 innings, the Pontiacs had a total of 3 baserunners – with Catherine Lawrence the only batter to connect consistently going 2 for 2 at bat. The Yogi’s were similarly stymied placing 3 runners on base in the first 4 innings.

Then in the 5^th inning, the Yogi’s lead-off batter tripled to deep right center field – and a fly ball to right field by the next batter scored the go ahead run. Many thought that this would be the only run of the game. However, in the next inning, with two out and two strikes against her, Riekie Dutcher powered a ball over the left field fence for a home run – the first ever home run put over the fence by a Pontiac!

The seventh inning was scoreless for both teams although both were able to put runners on base. As a result, the game moved to the International Tie-breaker.

In the top of the 8^th, Yogi’s started with the top of their order hitting and a baserunner at second base. A sacrifice bunt placed the runner at third with one out and the next batter singled to left field to bring the go-ahead run in. A fly ball to second base, another single and then a ground out to the pitcher ended the inning for the Yogi’s.

The Pontiacs were next up to bat in the bottom of the 8^th with the same situation – their lead-off batter (Elizabeth Verbeem) bunted but beat it out for a base hit and was safe at first – resulting in runners at first and third with none out. Johanna Malisani then came to the plate and worked the count full and fouled off 3 more pitches until she worked a walk to load the bases. Riekie Dutcher then came up and on 5 pitches struck out swinging – one out. Catherine Lawrence, who was 3 for 3 on the day, then came up to bat and struck out swinging at 3 pitches – two out. Kathy Sitak then came up to bat with two out, bases loaded and down one run – the tension was building as she calmly placed a basehit over second base and both runners – Christine Bassett at third and Elizabeth Verbeem at second crossed the plate while Johanna Malisani was safe at second and Kathy safe at first. The Pontiacs won in 8 innings!

With a two game break, the Pontiacs were able to celebrate and regroup – awaiting the decision on who they would play in the finals for the gold medal. Clarkson defeated Nova Scotia and earned the right to play in the finals.

Clarkson got off to an early lead by scoring 1 run in the first inning on 1 walk, 2 hits and an error and then plating 2 more in the 4^th inning on 1 walk and 2 errors and 1 hit. Another run crossed the plate in the fifth on 1 walk, 1 error and 2 hits. The Pontiacs finally got their bats working in the 6^th inning scoring one run on 2 hits. It was not your typical Pontiac game as they gave up 3 walks and made 5 errors with all runs against unearned. The bats were also not working as they had throughout the tournament with 2 strikeouts called and 3 strikeouts swinging. Unfortunately, where usually the defense can support the offense and vice versa; this was not to be the case in this game. As a result, Clarkson took home the gold and the Pontiacs won the silver.

The excitement of the tournament is evident in the games played – there were come from behind situations – there were dramatic hits – there were also dramatic defensive plays which have not necessarily been highlighted (many double-plays; balls caught on the rebound and fielded for an out) – it was a tremendous tournament for all involved.

And it would not be a tournament summary without mentioning Brittany Livingston – the bat girl who was assigned to the team for the tournament. Brittany brought her own enthusiasm and love of the game to the team and fit in very, very well – she was a great addition to the team on and off the field!

Eastern Canadian Championships – Charlottetown, PEI: