OSHAWA, Ont. - There will be a rematch of the championship final at the Canadian Colleges Baseball Championship as the Fanshawe Falcons and St. Clair Saints won their respective semifinal games on Saturday morning.
With the wet field conditions, the championship final has been pushed to Sunday, Oct. 29 at noon at Kinsmen Civic Memorial Stadium.
The defending national champion Fanshawe Falcons punched their ticket to the national final with a thrilling 4-3 victory over the host Durham Lords.
Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Durham's Matthew Dobson (Picton) was on first coming into the game as pinch runner for Logan Stewart (Lindsay) who got on with a single. Ryan Bothwell (Napanee) would send a shot up the middle that deflected off the pitcher to Zev Weisdorf who would throw the ball away. Trying to score all the way from first, Dobson was thrown out at the plate ending Durham's hope at the national finals.
Fanshawe had timely hitting with Brenden Robertson and Hayden Regnier each driving in a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Bryan Hames earned the complete game victory for Fanshawe allowing three earned runs while striking out seven.
Bothwell and Stewart would end up with two hits apiece while Alec Brown suffered the loss on the mound allowing four runs (two unearned) in the complete game.
Over at Ritson Field, the five-time defending OCAA champion St. Clair Saints beat the Holland Hurricanes 4-1 to advance to the finals.
Kyle Breitner was lights out on the mound for the Saints allowing just two hits over seven innings of work while striking out 11. One hit would cost him the shutout as Josh McDonald hit a solo home run in the fourth inning.
Although St. Clair was only able to get six hits of their own, they managed to score four runs capitalizing on some Holland miscues as two were unearned.
Patrick Kibble and Garik Godard scored a pair of runs for St. Clair in the win.
In last year's championship final, Fanshawe beat St. Clair 2-1 to win the inaugural title.
Prior to that game, it was the first time in five years that St. Clair did not win a major tournament that they were in as they entered the event as the four-time OCAA champions, 2013/2014 OUA/OCAA champions and 2012 CIBA champions.
St. Clair won the OCAA championship this season for the fifth straight year.
RESULTS/SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 26
Humber defeated Seneca 10-3
Players of the Game: Sutherland (HUM) & Kim (SEN)
St. Clair defeated Fanshawe 10-1
Players of the Game: Cunningham (SCC) & Regnier (FAN)
St. Clair defeated Humber 8-3
Players of the Game: Bondy (SCC) & Thompson (HUM)
Durham defeated Seneca 12-2
Players of the Game: Storry (DUR) & Acardo (SEN)
Holland defeated Ahuntsic 5-1
Players of the Game: McIsaac (HOL) & Legault (AHU)
Friday, October 27
Fanshawe defeated Holland 4-3
Players of the Game: Wood (FAN) & Banks (HOL)
Durham defeated St. Clair 3-0
Players of the Game: Harkness (DUR) & Gault (SCC)
Seneca defeated Ahuntsic 3-2
Players of the Game: Lewis (SEN) & Tamborini (AHU)
Humber defeated Holland 11-6 (5 innings)
Players of the Game: Marra (HUM) & Beach (HOL)
Fanshawe defeated Seneca 17-2 (Four Innings)
Players of the Game: Robertson (FAN) & Perrier (SEN)
St. Clair defeated Ahuntsic 9-0
Players of the Game: Achard-Groleau (AHU) & Doumani (SCC)
Durham defeated Holland 9-4
Players of the Game: May (DUR) & Dunnett (HOL)
Saturday, October 28
St. Clair defeated Holland 4-1
Players of the Game: McDonald (HOL) & Breitner (SCC)
Fanshawe defeated Durham 4-3
Players of the Game: Brown (DUR) & Hames (FAN)
Sunday, October 29
Championship Game
12 p.m. - St. Clair Saints vs. Fanshawe Falcons - Kinsmen Stadium
Source: Durham College
Photo Credit: Allan Fournier