Jayde McGahan made quite an impression in her first appearance with the Windsor Lancers softball team during an exhibition game against the St. Clair Saints.
"She's fantastic. We're excited to have her." said Lancers head coach Francine Stadler.
The right-handed pitcher had a solid first outing against the defending OCAA and Canadian Collegiate Softball Association national champions. The Chatham native held the Saints scoreless through the first three innings and struck out nine before dropping a 3-0 decision.
"I've only known these girls really for a week and a half but they've all been great, said the 18-year old. "Everyone's really nice, really supportive and they're just great teammates so this is just going to be an awesome five years for me."
McGahan played for the Aurora Diggers and also suited up for Team Ontario this summer at the Softball Canada U-19 Championships in Saskatoon before landing in Windsor. "They had the program I was interested in," McGahan said explaining how she ended up in the Rose City. "The coaches were really nice and I heard great things about them so I decided this is the place for me to be."
Playing in the Ontario University Softball League excites McGahan who looks forward to squaring off against players she grew up with. "I've been playing a bunch of these girls that have all decided to play in university for years in the provincial level so I get to see some of my teammates later on in the season."
McGahan could help the Lancers improve on last season where they finished with a 14-8 record. Stadler is carrying 21 players this season and feels the depth will be good for the team. "It's nice to have so many options if somebody has got a hot bat or if somebody has got the speed that you can put them on to run, pinch run for us," Stadler said. "It's nice to have that big bench and it'll be a challenge to oversee it but I'm looking forward to it."
Windsor opens the season Saturday with a doubleheader against the Ottawa Gee-Gee's at Mic Mac Park #2 at 2 and 4pm.
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