TECUMSEH, Ont. - A season of firsts comes to an exciting conclusion this weekend at the 2013 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Baseball Championship.

St. Clair College plays host to the double-knockout tournament at Bert Lacasse Park in Tecumseh, Ont. Also competing at the tournament are Durham College, George Brown College and Humber College.

The key to the tournament is simple - don't lose twice. The odds should be in St. Clair's favour, having lost just two games all season. But those losses did come to Durham and Humber, so the Saints won't be taking anyone lightly.

Men's baseball was introduced as an OCAA league sport this autumn with five colleges participating, including Seneca College. Durham, Humber and St. Clair previously competed with university teams in the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association, with St. Clair winning the championship last autumn.

In the double-knockout tournament, teams play a minimum of two games. Clubs are eliminated from the competition after their second loss. Schools are seeded based on regular season record.

The team that wins both games in the opening day of the tournament advances directly to the gold medal game, with two chances to win the championship. The team that avoids a second loss wins the tournament and the OCAA title.

St. Clair Saints (14-2, 1st OCAA)

St. Clair scored the most runs in the OCAA this season, while allowing the least number of runs against. This was an obvious recipe for success, as the Saints won the OCAA regular season title by three games over second-place Humber, outscoring the competition 159-34.

St. Clair pitcher Kyle Breitner (Mississauga) led the OCAA with 50 strikeouts, 15 more than his closest rival. Not surprisingly, Breitner posted a league-best 4-0 record and 1.08 ERA.

The Saints have a firm handle on the arms race in the OCAA, with Mitchell Kramer (Kingsville) as the only other OCAA student-athlete to reach the four-win plateau this season. Kramer had a 4-1 record with an ERA of 2.45, striking out 31 batters.

Offensively, outfielder Jonathan Valdez (Montreal) drove in an OCAA-best 25 RBI with a .396 average. His 19 hits were among the league leaders as well. Chris Horwood (Tecumseh) led the OCAA in runs scored with 20. Catcher Jeffrey Watkin (Tecumseh) was St. Clair's top batter with a .455 average.

The Saints open provincials against George Brown, a team they have defeated four straight times. St. Clair had a season-best eight-game win streak earlier in the season.

Humber Hawks (11-5, 2nd OCAA)

Humber scored the second-most runs (144) in the OCAA this season, while allowing the second-least number of runs against (59). Seemingly, second place was Humber's destiny.

Humber's Leonard Wood (Zephyr) finished the regular season in a tie for the OCAA's top batting average at .487. His teammate, Daniel Campos (Mississauga), led the OCAA in total hits with 21. Together, they pose a potent combination in the Humber line-up.

The Hawks have two solid arms they have depended on in 2013. Brandon Habibi (Brampton) had an impressive 2.65 ERA while striking out 24 in 17 innings of work. James Byrnes (Toronto) posted a 3-1 record and a 3.09 ERA during the regular season. He struck out 22 batters.

Humber's four-game win streak is currently the longest in OCAA.

Durham Lords (10-6, 3rd OCAA)

Sticking to script, Durham was third in runs scored (138) and runs allowed (67) and finished third in the standings.

Aaron McQuillen (Ajax) tied Humber's Wood for the league's top batting average at .487 and had a team-high 19 hits. A.J. Clark (Fonthill) had the second-best ERA among OCAA players at 2.14.

Forced to play St. Clair four times to close out the regular season due to rain outs earlier in the year, Durham has lost three of four. The Lords had a trio of three-game win streaks during the regular season.

Durham takes on Humber in the tournament opener in what is a rubber match. The Lords and Hawks split their four regular season games at two wins each.

George Brown Huskies (4-12, 4th OCAA)

George Brown struggled against the veteran teams throughout much of the regular season, but managed to clinch the fourth seed at the OCAA championship.

Curiously, George Brown was fourth in the league with 57 runs scored and 155 runs against.

One bright spot for the Huskies was the pitching of Marc Anthony Clauser (Toronto), striking out 35 batters in 26 innings of work. He also had a respectable record of 2-1.

Mckenzie Smikle (Toronto) and Jamie Lennox (Whitby) led George Brown with 14 hits each.

George Brown is the David among Goliaths in this tournament, but only needs one win to earn an OCAA medal.

The tournament will be webcast on OCAATV.com.

Championship Website: www.saintsathletics.ca/leagues/custom_page.cfm?leagueID=0&clientID=335&pageID=15003

Championship Schedule
Friday, October 18
Game 1: Humber vs. Durham - 11 a.m.
Game 2: St. Clair vs. George Brown - 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: Losers of Games 1 and 2 - 4 p.m.
Game 4: Winners of Games 1 and 2 - 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 19
OCAA Bronze Medal Game
Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 - 10 a.m.
*Loser awarded Bronze, winner advances to Gold Medal Game

OCAA Gold Medal Game(s)
Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Bronze Medal Game - 1 p.m.
*A second Gold Medal Game will be played at 3 p.m. if necessary

- OCAA -

ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 29 members sponsoring 11 sports.

For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com