The Durham Lords women’s softball team reached a pair of milestones on October 20 by winning the 2018 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championship. Durham College (DC) not only became the first program to win a 20th OCAA league sport championship, it also became the first women’s softball team to win four straight OCAA gold medals.

The Lords went undefeated in the four-team championship, defeating Humber College 8-3 before defeating St. Clair College twice by scores of 4-1 and 6-2.

“The girls played well and when you have eight freshmen come in and everyone gets on the same page like they did, that is something special,” said DC head coach Jim Nemish. “They never wavered all year and all weekend, leading to a positive result.”

Lords player Ashley Black was also named OCAA Pitcher of the Year on Thursday and was awarded championship MVP, while Emily Glendinning was named a championship all-star after throwing a complete game of her own against St. Clair.

“This this was a complete team effort from the outfield, to the infield, to our role players off the bench,” said Nemish. “Everyone wanted to do their best for each other and that’s special. I’m proud of the girls and what they accomplished this season.”