Baseball sweeps Fanshawe in pursuit of pennant

By: Isabelle Ferrante
Humber Athletics Communications

ETOBICOKE – Humber baseball (11-1, 1st OCAA) picked up two more wins in an evening doubleheader against the Fanshawe Falcons (8-2 OCAA) at Connorvale Park. Both games saw stellar pitching from Dalton Brownlee and Brandon Deans, as Deans' once again found himself breaking more records. David Boatto paced the way for the Hawks offensively, collecting three hits and two RBIs during the twinbill.

Game One – Humber 8, Fanshawe 2 

Humber's offence wasted no time getting on the board in game one, scoring four runs on five hits in the first inning of play. After a hit by a pitch and a single, fourth-year infielder Aidan Murphy hit an RBI double to deep left field and would later be cashed in by a Dylan White single. Justin Groves would end Humber's first-inning surge with an RBI single with Jaykob Turner crossing the plate. 

The third inning was deja vu for the Hawks, scoring another four runs. A fielder's choice and a couple of base hits loaded the bases for Hudson Lockwood, who hits an RBI single, scoring Ryan Brodie. A batter later, David Boatto singled to right field, cashing two runs to extend Humber's lead to eight. Lockwood capitalized on an error by Falcons pitcher Shawn Knelsen that would lead to Humber's final run of the game. 

Dalton Brownlee picked up his second win of the season, allowing one run on four hits while striking out six in six innings of work. Corey Vandegraaf made his first appearance of the season, closing out the seventh inning, allowing two hits and recording two strikeouts. 

Game Two – Humber 5, Fanshawe 2 

Once again, the story of game two was OCAA and Humber's Athlete of Week, Brandon Deans. After his historic outing against Seneca, Deans entered the evening needing seven strikeouts to set the record for the most in a season by a Humber pitcher.

Through the first four frames, Deans struck out six Fanshawe hitters and was on the verge of setting another record. With a full count against Carter Stratton, Deans fired a fastball that caught him looking for his 33rd strikeout of the season, establishing a new program record. The Mississauga native would go on to win his third straight game, striking out 12 Falcons in seven innings of work.

Offensively, Humber got on the board early with four runs, capitalizing on a couple of Fanshawe errors. Walks of Lockwood and Murphy would later come around to score on RBI singles by Jaykob Turner and Justin Groves. 

Humber would get another run in the bottom of the fourth with Lockwood crossing the plate after a Murphy sacrifice fly. 

Humber Highlights

• Through three starts, Brandon Deans has 38 strikeouts and now has his sights set on the OCAA record of 50. Three-time OCAA Pitcher of the Year Kyle Breitner established the record during the 2013-14 season in 33.1 innings of work.
• Humber improves to 22-12 all-time against the Falcons.
• Jaykob Turner sits second in the league in hitting with a .500 batting average.
• Dalton Brownlee is now tied for fourth all-time in Humber history with 51 career strikeouts. 

What's next? 

Humber baseball returns to Connorvale on Oct. 6 for a doubleheader against the Durham Lords (5-5, 6th OCAA). First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hawks Sports Network.