The UBC Okanagan Heat softball team had their national championship hopes dashed in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Collegiate Softball Association (CCSA) Championship on Saturday as they fell 3-2 to the Western Mustangs.
UBCO Heat Softball season ends at hands of Mustangs in CCSA Quarter-finals
After finishing pool play with a 1-2 record, the Heat advanced to the quarter-finals as the third seed in Pool A where they lined up against the Mustangs, the second seed from Pool B.
In a pitching duel between the two clubs, the Heat grabbed a 2-1 lead in the second inning as Cheyenne Simicak of Surrey, B.C., and Mikhaela Muir of Okotoks, Alta., scored to give the WCSA Champions the early edge.
That scoreline would hold all the way until the seventh inning where the Heat looked to advance with just three more outs. However, the Mustangs had other ideas and scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to earn the win to advance to the semifinals.
In pool play, the Heat faced the Durham Lords, the Toronto Varsity Blues and the host Ottawa Gee-Gees. After a shutout loss against Durham, the eventual champions, in their first game, the Heat loss a narrow 6-5 decision to the Varsity Blues.
UBCO earned their way into the medal round thanks to an impressive 14-2 victory over the host Gee-Gees in their final pool play contest.
Muir and Sheyenne Lawrence of Kelowna, B.C., were the stars in the game for the Heat with Muir going 3-for-3 at the plate and driving in four runs while Lawrence was 1-for-4 with three RBI.