Baseball captures OCAA silver medal

OSHAWA – A long weekend of baseball at Kinsmen Stadium saw Humber's season end with an OCAA silver medal.

Under the league's new format, Humber opened the tournament with the play-in game, beating the George Brown Huskies, 13-8. The next day, the Hawks beat the East Division leaders, Seneca Sting, in the quarter-final round before falling to St. Clair in the semifinal.

With their gold medal hopes on the line, the Hawks had to face Seneca once again, this time in the bronze medal game. Tied at two heading into the sixth inning, Tyrus Bath opened up the flood gates with a two-run double. Robert Champion followed with an RBI double, as the Hawks went on to win 6-2 and advance to their fourth consecutive OCAA title game.

The gruelling tournament format began to show in the championship final when Humber and St. Clair once again battled for provincial supremacy. The Saints, playing just their third game in two days, opened the scoring in the third inning when three straight infield singles loaded the bases. Championship all-star Colin Robinson broke the deadlock with a two-run single, and the Saints exploded for a five-run inning.

With little gas left in the tank, Humber was unable to create any momentum, stranding eight runners before falling to St. Clair, 7-1.

Tyrus Bath and Stephen Nahrabeki were named to the all-tournament team, playing key roles in Humber's silver medal run. Nahrabehki was once again the table-setter for Humber's offence, finishing with a .545 on-base percentage while leading the team with eight runs scored. Bath spent all five games behind the dish, finishing with a tournament-high eight RBIs and finishing with a slash line of .444/.688/1.243.