BURNABY, B.C. – Junior Simon Fraser center fielder Megan Duclos (Saint-Eustache, Que.) tied the Great Northwest Athletic Conference single-season record for stolen bases Saturday as she recorded three at the Tournament of Champions, presented by the City of Turlock, to reach 33 on the year.

Her Red Leafs team used a spectacular comeback to earn its first win at the event Saturday, and almost completed another to cap off the day.

The Red Leafs scored five times in the top of the seventh inning to beat California State Monterey Bay 8-7. Then down 10-1 against the Academy of Art (California), SFU tied to game with nine runs in the fifth to extend the game, but the Urban Knights escaped with an 11-10 win.

GAME 1 – Simon Fraser 8, California State Monterey Bay 7
CSUMB held a 7-3 lead heading the seventh and final inning of regulation.

The comeback started thanks to four rookies. 

Catcher Rachel Boles (Maple Ridge, B.C.) started the inning with an infield single. Freshman Laura Winters (Brooklin, Ont.), who played second base, followed with a single to left-center field. Centerfielder Anika Janzen (Chilliwack, B.C.) hit into a fielder's choice but a fielding error by the Otters allowed the Red Leafs to lead the bases.

Shortstop Amy Hughes of Brampton, Ont., then doubled to left to score Boles and Winters, and get SFU to within two runs at 7-5.

Then sophomore left fielder Abby McGlynn (Langley, B.C.) hit a three-run home run over the fence in left center to clear the bases and put the Red Leafs on top 8-7. It was her third home run of the year, and her team-best 27th, 28th, and 29th runs batted in.
 

The Otters led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk but sophomore pitcher Julia Hansen (Beaconsfield, Que.) retired the next three batters to clinch the win for the Red Leafs. It was her first save of the 2023 NCAA softball season.

SFU took a 2-0 advantage in the opening inning thanks to a two-run home run by sophomore first baseman Caitlin Zagari (Winnipeg), her first of the season.

The Red Leafs aided their comeback attempt by posting a run in the sixth to cut their deficit to 6-3, as rookie right fielder Cassidy Affeldt (Mission, B.C.) drove in Zagari with an RBI double.

McGlynn had three RBIs, while Hughes and Zagari had two each. Affeldt and Zagari both recorded a pair of hits.

GAME 2 – Academy of Art (California) 11, Simon Fraser 10
Duclos and Western Washington's Autumn Isaacson are now tied in the GNAC record book with 33 stolen bases in single season. Isaacson reached that figure in 2015, while SFU has 13 contests remaining in the regular season.

With SFU down 4-0 in the third, Duclos opened the inning with a bunt single. She then stole second base. After a pop up out, Duclos stole third and came home on a throwing error by Academy of Art to get the Red Leafs on the scoreboard.

Her record-tying stolen base came in the bottom of the fifth inning, in which SFU tied the score at 10-10 with nine runs. 
 
Duclos got on base via an error to lead off the fifth, and then took second to tie the GNAC record. She eventually made it to third after a McGlynn walk and a Hughes bunt single to lead the bases. Sophomore catcher Kirsten Davyduke (Saskatoon) drove in Duclos with a single. After a Zagari hit, Affeldt reached on a fielder's choice where a fielding error at third by the Urban Knights allowed Hughes to score. SFU cut the gap to 10-4 as the next play was the same, Davyduke scored on a fielder's choice and a fielding error at third.

The inning continued when sophomore designated player Avery Barker (Abbotsford, B.C.) hit an RBI-single up the middle to plate Zagari. Then Janzen did the same to score Affeldt. After batting around the order, SFU's had Duclos come back to the plate, getting to first on a fielder's choice that scored Winters to get the Red Leafs to 10-7. McGlynn doubled down the left-field line to drive in two more runs, before Hughes levelled the score at 10-10 with an RBI-single up the middle to bring home McGlynn. 

In total, SFU posted nine runs and seven hits in the fifth inning, and was aided by three errors. 

However, Cassandra Mittman RBI-single in the top of the sixth ended up as the game-winning run. The Red Leafs got a runner to second base in the bottom of the seventh but could not bring her across to tie the game.

Barker and Hughes had three hits apiece to lead Canada's NCAA team, while Duclos scored three runs. McGlynn had two runs batted in. 

Bethany Mitchell and Haley Randall drove in three runs each for AAU.

The team will wrap up the tournament Sunday with a 12:30 p.m. game against Hawaii Hilo.

The next SFU home games at Beedie Field will be April 7-8 against Saint Martin's (Washington).
 
Online ticket links:
April 7: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-softball-vs-saint-martins-university-double-header-tickets-528764798747
April 8: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-softball-vs-saint-martins-university-double-header-tickets-528766403547
 
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
 
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