The Golden Hawks women's softball team saw their regular season extended by two games as rainout games were made up on Friday, October 11 with the Windsor Lancers. The Golden Hawks went into the games as the second team (14-4) in the Western Conference, trailing only the Lancers (13-3). Both teams had split their doubleheader earlier in the season at one game apiece.
Lauren Artt got the start in the circle for the Golden Hawks and went 4 and 2 through 3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and 4 strikeouts while walking none. Laurier got on the board in the 2nd inning with singles by Artt and Natalie Donnelle combined with a Windsor error to score 2 runs. The Golden Hawks added 3 more runs in the 3rd on 4 straight hits from Avery Hilpert, Brooke Cameron, Amy Hughes and Emma Diegel.
Hayley Shackell came in to pitch relief in the bottom of the 5th inning with the tying run at second base and induced a Windsor pop up to end the threat. She went on to pitch the remainder of the game giving up 3 hits and 2 runs while striking out 3 and walking none.
Cameron led off the top of the 7th with a single, followed by hits from Hughes and Diegel, and a Maddy Halstead sacrifice fly to add 3 more runs. The Lancers would rally for a couple runs in the bottom of the 7th but it was not enough as they fell short 9-5.
In the second game, it was Laurier scoring first. Singles by Hilpert and Cameron combined with sacrifices by Hughes and Diegel gave the Golden Hawks an early 2-0 lead in the 1st inning. Brooke Cameron toed the rubber for the Golden Hawks in the second game. The senior right-hander was excellent holding off the Lancers through the first 4 frames. They would score 1 in the 5th off a pair of singles but that was their only run of the game.
Laurier added 3 runs in the 5th off singles by Cameron and Hughes combined with 2 Lancer errors. In the 6th, senior Hilpert would end the regular season the same way she began the season - with an inside-the-park home run.
With the wins, the Golden Hawks wrap up the regular season in the top spot overall in the Ontario University Softball league, with a 16-4 record. They head to the OUS playoffs next weekend in Napanee where they will play Ottawa, the 4th seed from the Eastern Conference.
