Squirt 1 Gators Win Gold at Mississauga Partners Tournament

The Guelph Squirt 1 Gators won Gold at the Mississauga Partners tournament.

The Gators started off slow only winning one game during the 4 game round robin.  Sara Contini, Erin Fortney and Jacey Lochert pitched solidly for the locals, however timely opponent hits, inconsistent defense and silent Gator bats resulted in disappointing losses.  The Gators incurred round robin losses against the Brampton Blazers, Mississauga North Tigers and the Brantford Bobcats. 

Guelph’s round-robin bright spot was the play-off berth clinching 7-0 victory over the Mississauga Southwest Hurricanes.  Jacey Lochert pitched the win in the Mississauga game, striking out 12 batters while only giving up one hit.  Guelph racked up 10 hits over the time capped 5 innings. Erin Fortney and Sara Contini scored 2 runs each while Ashley Hodgson, Danielle O’Connell and Taylor Bondy complete the locals scoring. Kirsten McCartney hit 3 for 3 driving in 2 runs.

The Gators’ semi-final game was against the 4-0 Brantford Bobcats who had just handed them a convincing 11-2 defeat.  This time the girls stepped up their game demonstrating solid defense and offensive hussle.  Erin Fortney led off the game with a single and scored when an overthrow to second sailed into centre field.  In the 3^rd Elise Cassar walked, Fortney singled and Rainey Psenicka walked to load the bases.  A single by Ashley Hodgson drove in 2, followed immediately by a Sara Contini single scoring Psenicka.  Guelph led the game until the 6^th when Brantford scored 2 runs to tie the game and followed that with a run in the top of the 7^th to take the lead.  In the bottom, with Josie Wahl at second base, Elise Cassar laid down a bunt drawing a rushed overthrow to first scoring Wahl.  Fortney, the next batter, hit a shot to the gap in right-centre scoring Cassar for the winning run.

The Gold medal game was against the Mississauga North Tigers who jumped out to an early 1^st inning lead scoring 2 runs.  That would be all they would score as the Guelph defense, with Erin Fortney on the mound, gave up only 2 singles over the final 6 frames.  The Tigers held the 2-0 edge until the 6^th when Taylor Bondy was driven in by a Fortney double. Rainey Psenicka drove in Fortney to tie the game going into the 7^th.  In the top of 7, Jacey Lochert hammered a triple and then scored the winning run when Josie Wahl hit a shot to short that drew a wild throw to 1^st.  Guelph held the Tigers scoreless in the bottom of the inning for the victory and the Gold Medal.

Guelph Squirt I Gators win Gold at 09 Gator Classic.

The Guelph Squirt 1 Gators took Gold at the hometown '09 Gator Classic.

The Gators started the tournament off with a 7-3 victory against the Brantford Bobcats, handing them their first loss of the year.  It was a close game, with the score tied heading into Guelph’s half of the final inning.  After Guelph had scored a run and loaded the bases, Kirsten McCartney broke things wide open by lining a double, scoring 3 runs and giving Guelph a 4 run lead. Jacey Lochert and Danielle O’Connell scored 2 runs each for the locals while Eryn Clark, Erin Fortney and Ashley Hodgson scored a run each.  Sara Contini pitched a complete game 5 hitter for the locals. 

Guelph defeated Waterloo in their second game 8-4.  Jacey Lochert pitched the win striking out 11 Waterloo batters.  Lochert lead-off the game for Guelph and scored a run, however Waterloo replied with 2 in their half of the 1^st and were leading 3-1 going into the 4^th when the Guelph bats came alive.  The locals scored 5 runs by O’Connell, Contini, McCartney, Rainey Psenicka and Josie Wahl.  O’Connell & Psenicka scored another run each. 

Guelph completed the round robin format squeaking out a 4-2 victory over the Brampton Blazers.  Sara Contini scored a run in the 3^rd, however Guelph was down 2-1 going into the final two innings. In the top of 6th, Jacey Lochert got on base, advanced on an Erin Fortney hit and then scored on a single by Ashley Hodgson to tie the game.  Fortney scored later in the inning on a pass ball to put the Gators in the lead.  Rainey Psenicka gave Guelph some insurance in the top half of the 7^th scoring on a pass ball.  Erin Fortney pitched a 2 hitter for the locals striking out 18 Brampton batters. 

Guelph faced Waterloo in the semi-finals.  Waterloo scored 2 early; however Guelph scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 3^rd and cruised to a 12-2 victory.  Sara Contini and Jacey Lochert shared the pitching duties striking out 9 Waterloo batters.  Josie Wahl, Rainey Psenicka, Eryn Clark and Erin Fortney scored 2 runs each with Lochert, Contini, Kirsten McCartney and Elise Cassar crossing home plate for the other 4 runs.  Cassar drove in 5 runs including three on a 3^rd inning Home Run.

In the Gold Medal game Guelph faced Brantford who started strong scoring their first three batters.   That would be all Brantford would score as the defense, with Erin Fortney on the mound, allowed only 21 batters to come to the plate over the final 6 frames.  Guelph scored 2 runs in the 4^th as Fortney and Ashley Hodgson snuck home with heads up baserunning on defensive errors. There was no further scoring until the bottom of the final inning as Fortney drew a walk and was advanced on a Hodgson single.  Sara Contini followed with a towering double driving in Fortney for the tie and putting runners at 2^nd and 3^rd.   The Bobcats then began pitching outside to Taylor Bondy, however she connected with a pitch, driving in Hodgson for the winning run and the Gold medal.