Durham’s Glendinning perfect in win over Seneca College
Rookie Emily Glendinning became the first Durham women’s softball pitcher to throw a perfect game since 2009. (Photo courtesy of Allan Fournier)
Perfection is a rarity in baseball, but Durham Lords pitcher Emily Glendinning joined a short list of names by spinning the school’s first perfect game since 2009.
The freshman pitcher/first baseman, went six innings in the Lords 10-0 victory over Seneca to cap off a two-game sweep for the Durham College women’s softball team on Sept. 15. Glendinning becomes the first pitcher since Kayla MacLean threw a perfect game on Oct. 4, 2009 in the Lords 10-0 victory over the Conestoga Condors.
“Honestly, it’s something you might get once in your career as a pitcher, but it’s not something I think about because I just go into the game with the mindset that I want to pitch my best game,” said Glendinning. “I’ve just been working hard lately and have been hitting my spots, so it was nice to have a great game, but more important that we came out on top as a team.”
Glendinning faced 18 Seneca hitters, striking out nine.
Her team backed her up offensively with Emily Hill going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a home run to lead the Lords. Marina Christie and Ashley Black each picked up a pair of RBIs.
When asked if she thought she would ever pitch a perfect game, the rookie Lord was frank.
“Honestly no. Coming into this season I was just watching Ashley [Black], who is a great pitcher and someone I look up to, and was honestly just trying to do everything I could to get to her level and pitch a good game. It’s an amazing feeling to find out I did that, but if I didn’t have my team behind me tonight I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
To open the night, Black pitched a one-hitter, striking out six en route to a 7-0 victory.
Her counterpart, Amanda Van De Graaf, gave up three earned runs on eight hits and two walks.
The Lords offence was led by Cassidy Scott (Brampton, Ont.) who was 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Ashley Wallace (Coldwater, Ont.) wasn’t far off going 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Hannah Rhodes was the lone batter to cause trouble for Black, as she finished the night 1-for-1 with a walk.