CALGARY – The UBCO Heat softball team completed a remarkable season by winning the 2025 Canadian Collegiate Softball Association Championship (CCSA), defeating the Calgary Dinos by a score of 8-1 on Saturday afternoon at Shouldice Athletic Park.
 
The victory secured the Heat their second CCSA Championship since the program's inception back in 2019. UBCO also claimed the national championship in 2021 and won bronze in 2022, earning them a spot on the podium in three of their six seasons of competition.
 
In a rematch of the Western Collegiate Softball Association (WCSA) final, the Heat and Dinos squared off in a gold medal game for the second week in a row, with UBCO once again coming out on top.
 
The host Dinos jumped out to an early 1-0 lead and that scoreline would hold until the fourth inning when the Heat bats came alive. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, pinch hitter Hannah Pepin drove in three runs with a single to right field to give UBCO a 3-1 lead.
 
The Heat would carry the momentum from that hit into the fifth inning when Hannah's older sister Emma Pepin singled to drive in Lillian Ducarme, extending the lead to 4-1.
 
Hannah stepped to the plate next, with the bases once again loaded, and she once again delivered, hitting a double to centre field that cleared the bases to give UBCO a 7-1 lead. Maya Holmes then tripled to drive in Hannah, making the score 8-1 and enacting the seven-run mercy rule to give UBCO the win.
 
Hannah Pepin, a rookie from Victoria, was one of the stars of the game as she finished with six runs batted in while starting pitcher Kate Hourihane pitched a completed game, allowing just the single run on seven hits while striking out one.
 
Following the tournament, both Hourihane and third baseman Maya Holmes were named to the Tournament All-Star team.
 
UBCO reaching the final in thrilling fashion after posting a 3-0 record in pool play to advance straight to the semifinals.
 
Training the Durham Lords from the Ontario Collegiate Athletics Association (OCAA) 7-3 after four innings, the Heat rallied in the fifth by scoring four runs to tie the game.
 
Heading to extras, both teams scored two runs in the eighth inning, sending it to the ninth inning.
 
After Durham retook the lead once again, Emmy Bonville sent the Heat to the final with a walk-off, two-run double.
 
The championship victory capped an incredible run for head coach Doug Allin in his first year at the helm. His team finished the season on a 28-game unbeaten streak to finish first in the regular season standings, while also capturing both the WCSA and CCSA titles.
 
"Taking the coaching position was a considerable amount of work but seeing the players commit to each other to prepare for the season was amazing," commented Allin. "The players experienced something that they will share forever and I'm glad to have shared in the journey with the players, manager and coaches."