The Laurier Golden Hawks lived up to their name and claimed the gold medal at the 2025 Ontario University Championships held in Innerkip, Ontario, on October 18th and 19th. This was the first title for the program since 2007.
“When I first joined the Laurier program as a freshman, I wasn't too sure what to expect,” said senior catcher Olivia Shaddick. “We had a really young team, and the program hadn’t had a deep run in a really long time. But over the years, things started to pivot – new coaching staff, new structure – and last year, when we placed second at provincials, I really saw the team start to believe in what we could accomplish.”
Laurier, who had finished the regular season in second in the West division, opened provincials against the Ottawa Gee Gees, who were third in the East division. The Hawks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first and never looked back. A three-run home run by Olivia Faulhafer was the big hit of the game. Post-graduate student Emily Cox started in the pitcher's circle for the Hawks and combined with senior Emma Diegel to keep the Gee Gees hitless on the way to a 9-0 win.
The second game brought a familiar West Division foe in the McMaster Marauders, who were making their first post-season appearance in several years. McMaster had reached the second game with an upset over the number one seed, the University of Toronto.
Cox started the game again for Laurier, and she and the McMaster pitcher kept the game scoreless through the first three innings. A triple by Maddy Halstead, coupled with singles from Kendall Rainey, Faulhafer, and Natalie Donelle, put the Hawks up 3-0 in the bottom of the 4th. The Hawks added two more runs in the 5th off an Amy Hughes triple and Jules Merritt single to move ahead 5-0. A perfect squeeze bunt put down by Lauren Artt in the 6th inning pushed across Ansa Mian with the final run needed to move to the unbeaten quarter-final game with the 7-0 victory.
“After those first two games, I really felt it,” said third-year second basemen Maddy Halstead. “We were still racking up runs, and I was like, wow, we could win this thing. Especially coming into the game against Western, they have such a high reputation, which can be daunting, but we were just so pumped up and wanting to fight. Everybody had a role that weekend, and everyone showed up 110%."
Laurier would face a tough challenge in the quarters, taking on Western, who had beaten them four times in the regular season. Senior Hayley Shackell got the start and pitched very well, but the Western bats were sharp, and they took the early lead. The Golden Hawks had several good scoring chances, getting runners on base, but failed to get the timely hit to catch the Mustangs, who would move on to the gold medal game.
“I think actually losing to Western might have benefited us,” Shaddick reflected. “It really lit a fire under people – we didn’t want silver again. There’s always that Laurier–Western rivalry, and after losing to them in that undefeated game, we knew we weren’t settling.”
The loss pushed Laurier to the bottom side of the bracket, where they would face last year's champions, the University of Toronto. The Blues were the top team in the regular season with a 19-1 record and had amassed 209 runs in those 20 games.
It was, however, the Golden Hawks who would open the scoring in this one, scoring two in the first on a pair of singles by Hughes and Diegel and one in the second on a Ramkalawan double to move ahead 3-0. The Golden Hawks would blow the game open in the fifth when singles by Hughes, Diegel, and Abby Cooper combined with a three-run home run by Faulhafer and a solo home run by Hughes to open up a commanding 11-0 lead. That was more than enough as the starting pitcher, Cox threw a third shutout and second no-hitter of the weekend as the Golden Hawks stormed into the gold-medal game.
“We had won back-to-back games and the scores weren’t even close,” said Shaddick. “That’s when I knew this was going to happen. Even after the Western loss, I didn’t feel doubt – just this sense that if we played our game, we could win it all.”
It was a rematch of the quarter finals between Laurier and Western. With a 0-5 season record, the Golden Hawks would be the underdog in this contest. As they had in their earlier games, Western jumped out to an early lead, scoring one in the second and one in the third. In the 4th inning, the Laurier bats would come alive on a series of singles from Diegel, Mian, Artt, Hughes, and Ramkalawan to take a 5-2 lead.
The weather started to become a factor in the game as the drizzle, which had been present much of the day, became a little heavier. A home run by Hughes and singles from Merritt, Natalie Donelle, and Diegel would extend the Laurier lead to 8-2. A series of rain delays dragged out the 6th inning before catcher Faulhafer tagged out a Western baserunner coming home to end a Mustang threat with the bases loaded.
“Everyone was so tense that game – you could hear a pin drop before every pitch,” Shaddick said. “We’re a very unserious team sometimes, and during the rain delays, we just started playing songs about rain and dancing. It helped everyone breathe and refocus.”
Halstead agreed, laughing about the team’s superstition during the stop-and-start delays. “We were all like, ‘everyone stand in the same positions, don’t move!’” she said. “We just tried to make it fun and keep the energy up. Honestly, those breaks helped us relax a bit and remember to enjoy it.”
After several more rain delays, the game would continue into the bottom of the 7th inning with Laurier holding a 10-2 lead. In the bottom of the frame, Laurier would get two outs before lightning and heavy rain forced an end to the contest.
“Our coaching staff came over and whispered that we had just won gold,” said Shaddick. “Everybody went crazy. It was such a nice moment, being together in that anticipation and then finding out we’d done it.”
For the Golden Hawks, the championship represented more than a single weekend of success. It was the culmination of years of rebuilding, trust, and belief.
“We definitely didn’t have it right from the get-go,” said Shaddick. “At the start of the year, we felt some distance between the veterans and the freshmen – it took time to click. But our trip to Calgary for nationals really helped with bonding and gave our younger players a perspective on what we were working toward. That’s where our chemistry really shifted.”
Halstead echoed the sentiment: “It actually took until the middle or end of the season for us to really start clicking. We had ups and downs, but Calgary helped. Even though we didn’t do as well as we wanted there, it brought us together, and we came back determined to win provincials.”
Following the game, outgoing seniors Olivia Shaddick, Hayley Shackell, Emma Diegel, and Emilly Cox, along with player executive Maddy Halstead, collected the championship trophy and banner. Cox was also awarded the Doug Parry MVP Award for her performance over the weekend. For the graduating class, the championship was a perfect sendoff.
