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WINDSOR, ON – The Durham Lords placed fourth at the 2022 CCSA National Championship in Windsor this weekend.

Durham opened Saturday against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues needing a win to keep their national championship dreams alive. Grace Hearns (Napanee, ON) got a head start on that dream with a run in the first inning to give the Lords an early lead after hitting a triple at the plate.

After Toronto scored runs in back-to-back innings, Durham was trailing by one going into the bottom of the third. Natalie Clemens (Marmora, ON) tied things up in the inning. After hitting a single, Clemens made her way to third on a hit from Hearns and eventually made her way across home plate.

Following a scoreless fourth inning, Hearns hit a double and Shelton would get her home in the next at-bat, hitting a single to take a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Kaylen Wilson (Pickering, ON) doubled with Hannah Oke (Brooklin, ON) on second base to bring her home and double the lead.

Toronto had no answer in the seventh inning and the Lords would win 4-2, securing the third seed in their group and a spot in the quarterfinals against the University of Calgary Dinos.

Against the Dinos, the Lords jumped ahead early on an RBI single from Abi Suffel (Whitby, ON) to send Jocelyn Shelton (Aylmer, ON) scoring in the top of the first.

Durham extended their lead to four in the third inning, as Suffel would score herself on an RBI double from Oke before Wilson hit a single that brought in two runs with Oke and Ryleigh Easton (Bowmanville, ON) scoring.

Clemens registered her second run of the day in the top of the sixth inning, giving the Lords a 5-0 lead.

Both sides would trade off a pair of runs in the seventh and final inning, and a 7-2 lead was enough to fire the Lords into the semi-finals against the St. Clair Saints, who they lost 6-0 to in the first game of the round robin.

After falling behind by two runs in the opening frame, Easton brought in another run when she hit a single to advance Suffel across home plate.

St. Clair added another run in the second inning and four more in the third as the hosts led 7-1 through three innings. It was a strong defensive final four, with no more runs being scored and the Saints advancing to the gold medal game.

On Sunday, the Lords had an opportunity to play for bronze against the UBC-Okanagan Heat. In the same pool in the round robin, the Lords led by as many as four runs but ultimately lost 10-9 in their first meeting.

In the bronze medal rematch, an error put UBCO ahead by two early in the bottom of the first inning. An RBI double in the second put the Heat up 3-0 and eventually hit a solo home run to go up by four.

UBCO added three more runs, one in each of the next three innings to end the game in a 7-0 mercy rule result and the Durham Lords would leave Windsor with a fourth-place finish at the 2022 CCSA National Championship.

To read the recap from day one, click here.

Returning to OCAA action, the Lords wrap up their regular season at Seneca on Wednesday, October 12.

OVERALL RECORD: 21-11
CONFERENCE RECORD: 16-6
NEXT GAME: Wednesday, October 12 vs. Seneca Sting • North York, ON • 6:00 / 8:00 PM


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