ETOBICOKE, Ont. - Simply put, Hawk pitcher James Byrnes was incredible, as he pitched all 11 innings in the Hawks "walk-off" victory in the second game of a doubleheader against Durham College, on Sunday afternoon.
Byrnes' 11-inning masterpiece was supported in the bottom of the 11th by a booming double off the bat of Tyler Goersten, scoring Vince Bucci from second base for a 4-3 win.
With one out, Colin Gingerich launched a ball over the right fielder's head for a single, and was then replaced by Bucci. George Halim, who seemed to be on base all day, walked, and the Hawks had two runners on base. This set the stage for Goersten's blow off the tough lefty from Durham.
The team was split as to who to celebrate with – Bucci who scored, Goersten who had the game winner, or Byrnes, who stymied the visiting Lords over an unheard of 11 inning outing.
It was odd to see, but it was Byrnes who seemed to get stronger as his pitch count hit 100 on the day. The 10th inning was one to marvel at, as he got three outs by only throwing five pitches, thus allowing him to come out for the 11th.
He finished the game with a pitch count of 116, with a line that read; 11 innings, three runs, six hits and four left on base.
The odd thing about the outing by Byrnes was that it was indeed not odd at all. Throughout his pitching career he has been throwing games in which his pitch count would soar over the 100 mark. Earlier this year he pitched seven innings and 112 pitches in a win on road in Windsor against the division leading St. Clair Saints.
His record sits at with an unblemished mark of 2-0.
Byrnes, a native of Toronto, is enrolled in the Graphic Design Program at Humber's Lakeshore campus. This is his second year of ball for Humber College, the first as a member of Humber's CIBA team last season.
Source: Humber College
ETOBICOKE, Ont. - Durham and Humber renewed their rivalry on Sunday afternoon as they split their OCAA men's baseball doubleheader, with game two lasting a whopping 11 innings.
Since the Hawks joined men's baseball in 2010, Humber and Durham have had some great games and Saturday was no exception.
Game one featured a strong pitching performance for starting pitcher Ryan Norris (Oshawa, Ont.), who pitched a complete game allowing three hits and three earned runs in his first win of the season.
Catcher Jack Lang (Pickering, Ont.) had a key home run for the Lords as he went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Humber pitching had trouble stopping Brendan Convery (Stouffville, Ont.) who went 3-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Although Dale Valade (North Bay, Ont.) did not get a hit, he was walked three times, recorded three stolen bases and scored two runs.
Game two was a marathon match with Humber eventually scoring the game-winning run off of Valade in the 11th inning. Valade tossed four innings allowing the one run off of four hits.
Starting pitcher A.J. Clark (Fonthill, Ont.) went 6 1/3 innings allowing two earned runs and six hits. Clark struck out six Humber batters.
Spencer Green (Mallorytown, Ont.) had a two-run home run in the game while Aaron Fleming was 1-for-2 with an RBI.
The Lords and Hawks have split the season series with each team earning two victories. The Hawks currently sit in second place in the OCAA standings with a 5-3 record while the Lords are 3-2.
Durham will be back on the diamond on Tuesday night as they head to Toronto for a doubleheader against the Seneca Sting. This will be the first game between the two clubs.
Source: Durham College