June 2009

Written by OntFast Monday, 01 June 2009 07:44

The final for the NCAA Women's College World Series starts tonight with Florida playing Washington in a best-of-three series. Those of you fortunate enough to access ESPN can watch it live, otherwise you can see live boxscore updates from here.

Here are some highlights from yesterday's Georgia vs Washington game with Georgia winning to force a 2nd game last night sending Washington to the final.

Written by OntFast Tuesday, 02 June 2009 07:00

A Canada National Team evaluation camp was held in Oakville on May 30, 2009. Here is the tale in music and pictures. Thank you to Doug Parry for the photos.

Written by OntFast Wednesday, 03 June 2009 06:50

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kimi Pohlman raced home on a squibber back to the circle that Florida ace Stacey Nelson couldn't handle, giving Washington the decisive run in a 3-2 victory for its first NCAA softball championship Tuesday night.

With the bases loaded in the third inning, Morgan Stuart tapped the ball a few feet in front of home plate, but Nelson (41-5) was unable to scoop it cleanly. That allowed the go-ahead run to score.

National player of the year Danielle Lawrie (42-8) shut out the top-seeded Gators (63-5) the rest of the way to clinch the title with a two-game sweep.

Washington (51-12) kept the championship in the Pac-10 by keeping Florida from bringing the Southeastern Conference its first title. The Pac-10 has won 21 of the 27 Women's College World Series titles, with Arizona State and Washington joining powerhouses UCLA (11 championships) and Arizona (eight) the past two years.

Huskies players tossed their gloves into the air and gathered in a huddle near home plate after Lawrie struck out Ali Gardiner to end the game. The huddle of players soon fell over onto the ground after being handed the NCAA championship trophy.

The celebration capped a road trip that has kept the Huskies away from home for three weeks.

The team caught a flight out of Seattle on May 13 after being sent to Massachusetts for the opening weekend of NCAA tournament play. The Huskies stayed on the East Coast for a super regional against Georgia Tech in Atlanta before coming directly to Oklahoma City for the World Series.

When they end their 6,899-mile trek and arrive back in Seattle, they'll have some new hardware. It was the school's fifth NCAA title overall, and the first since the women's volleyball team won its only championship in 2005.

With Lawrie and Canadian Olympic teammate Jenn Salling leading the way, the Huskies were right at home in Oklahoma City.

Lawrie settled down after some shaky defense put the third-seeded Huskies in a 2-0 hole right off the bat. She finished with a pair of strikeouts after Christina Enea narrowly missed a tying home run with a line drive off the left field wall in the seventh inning.

Lawrie was selected the most outstanding player of the World Series.

Florida's Aja Paculba led off the game with a triple to right-center field past a diving Aly McWherter and came in on a passed ball. Kristina Hilbreth reached on an error, moved to second on Enea's infield single and was able to sneak into third on a steal when Stuart lingered too far from the base to tag her. She scored on Megan Bush's sacrifice fly.

Washington answered immediately against Nelson, who led the nation in ERA but was coming off two of her worst outings of the season. Lawrie's RBI single and a wild pitch that brought in Pohlman evened the score at 2 in the bottom of the first.

Written by OntFast Thursday, 04 June 2009 07:01

Written by OntFast Thursday, 04 June 2009 11:31

McMaster University is now accepting applications for the position of Head Coach for the Women's Fastpitch team. The team plays in the Ontario Intercollegiate Women's Fastpitch Association (OIWFA).The season is September and October.
 
Interested candidates are to contact the McMaster University Fastpitch Co-ordinator Dave Preston by e-mail at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by land line at 905-525-9140 ext 26091
 
Please include:
Name
Address
Contact info: e-mail address and phone number(s)
Coaching Experience
NCCP number
 
Please reply by JUNE 30, 2009

Written by OntFast Friday, 05 June 2009 05:09

This is a really well written article about Canadian Olympian Danielle Lawrie who just led her Huskies to the national championship.

UW's Lawrie may be Seattle's most dominant athlete ever

By Jerry Brewer
Seattle Times staff columnist

OKLAHOMA CITY — A man sat at Beverly's Pancake House early Wednesday morning wearing a Thunder jersey and attacking a tall stack of buttermilk artery cloggers. He heard I was from Seattle, put down his fork and spoke despite a full mouth.

"You here to ask for your team back?" he needled.

"No," I replied. "I came to watch Washington win a softball championship."

"Oh, I didn't know they was from Seattle!" the man exclaimed. "That pitcher they got? She's somethin' else, I tell ya. She could kill a bear, hard as she throws. We've seen some good softball around here, but she's one of the best. Has to be."

Well, at least Seattle and Oklahoma City, destined to always be at odds over the swiping of the Sonics, can agree on one thing: Danielle Lawrie is a bad mamma jamma.

So bad, in fact, that we must realize her talent should be measured in even broader terms. It's too limiting to consider Lawrie only the nation's finest college softball player. She's so much more than that.

She's the most dominant athlete (in a team sport) in our city.

Written by OntFast Friday, 05 June 2009 07:55

This week we have a number of very competitive tournaments held in Barrie, Brampton, Brantford, Port Perry and Stratford. The schedules are listed below so you can find the team and park for the teams you wish to see. Unfortunately we were unable to obtain the schedule for Stratford.

The weather looks great for Saturday, so pack your sun screen and camera and head off to your favourite ballpark. Set up that lawn chair and get yourself a hot dog and a cold drink and watch the best in Ontario continue their trek towards excellence.

Barrie - Squirt, Novice and Bantam divisions


Brampton - Bantam Blast, Tier 1 and 2 divisions


Brantford - Worth Classic Midget 1 and 2, Bantam and Novice


Port Perry - Open tournament with teams from Senior to Midget

Written by OntFast

The Canadian Olympic Committee has posted a poll on their website asking: “What sport would you like to see added to the 2016 Olympic Games?”

Let’s all join together and vote for softball!
 

The poll is on the right side of the COC website: www.olympic.ca

Written by OntFast Tuesday, 09 June 2009 05:43

Photos from the June 5-7 Brantford Worth Classic tournament featuring teams from the Novice, Bantam and Midget divisions. Photos courtesy of Doug Parry.

Written by OntFast Wednesday, 10 June 2009 05:08

(Ottawa, ON) - Softball Canada is pleased to announce that Phyllis Bomberry (Athlete), Don Bracey (Official), Gil Read (Builder), the 1949 Tip Top Tailors (Team) and Darren Zack (Athlete) will be inducted into the Softball Canada Hall of Fame in recognition for their contribution and excellence in the sport of softball across the country.

Phyllis Bomberry (Athlete – Ontario), born in 1943 in Oshweken, Ontario, grew up playing softball in a time when there were no Canadian Championships, and once they were created, it was very difficult for women’s teams to qualify. Phyllis played in several world-class tournaments, most notably the Bulova Watch Tournament at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto where she had three (3) first-place finishes and two (2) second-place finishes. From 1967 to 1970, Phyllis was by far one of the best players in the country. In 1967, she won a Canadian Championship and was named All-Star Catcher, also collecting Top Batter and Most Valuable Player awards. The following year, she won her second straight Canadian Championship and once again was named All-Star catcher. In 1969, Phyllis became the first woman to win the Tom Longboat award (created in 1951) annually awarded to the most outstanding First Nations athlete. That same year, she won a Gold medal at the first Canada Games.