OSHAWA, Ont. – Following the completion of Day 1 of the 2019 OCAA Men's Baseball Championship, hosted by Durham College, the top-seeded Humber Hawks are in line to repeat as provincial champions after claiming two wins to open the provincial showcase on Friday in Oshawa, Ont.
The Hawks surged past the competition courtesy stellar pitching performances in both outings. In Game 1 of the day, Hawks pitchers Matt Stoddart and Riley Pollard combined to stifle the powerful offence of the Seneca Sting en route to a 7-4 victory. Stoddart went 4 1/3 innings, striking out three, while allowing only two earned runs. Pollard appeared in relief and picked up the win, holding the Sting to one earned run through the remaining innings. Humber catcher Hunter Bisser was the most effective at the plate in the tournament opener, going 2-for-3 with a walk, recording three RBI. Then in Game 2 for the Hawks it was Steven Hough who stepped onto the mound, delivering a five inning shutout in a 10-0 Humber win over Durham. Hough allowed just six hits and two walks, while striking out five Lords batters. Humber was also buoyed to success in their second game of the day by the bat of Dennis De Baning who tallied four RBI and a run, going 2-for-4 at the plate.
Meanwhile, the Durham Lords and St. Clair Saints earned their place on Day 2 of the provincial championship after they each earned a win on Friday at Kinsmen Stadium.
In the second game of the tournament, the Lords defeated the Saints by a score of 6-2, utilizing a combination of hot bats and excellent pitching from 2019 OCAA pitcher of the year, Jason Crouse. Five different Durham batters earned an RBI in the victory, while Crouse pitched a complete game holding the Saints to six hits and two earned runs.
St. Clair bounced right back though, defeating the fourth-seeded Seneca Sting in six innings, 10-0. The Saints converted eight hits into 10 runs, with a trio of batters in Carter Reh, Brendan Renaud and Ryley Vernon all recording multiple hits and RBI. Emilio Valdes earned the win on the mound, pitching five shutout innings, striking out six Seneca batters and giving up just two hits in total.
Seneca was eliminated from the tournament after their two losses at the hands of the Hawks and Saints.
Competition will continue Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with a second showdown between the host Durham Lords and second-seeded St. Clair Saints in as many days to determine who will wear the bronze and who will move on to challenge the Hawks for gold. The gold medal game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. All the action can be viewed on OCAA LIVE.
Source: Durham Lords
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/base
Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive
Friday, October 18
Game #1: Humber def. Seneca 7-4
Game #2: Durham def. St. Clair 6-2
Game #3: St. Clair def. Seneca 10-0
Game #4: Humber def. Durham 10-0
Saturday, October 19
OCAA Bronze Medal Game
Game #5: St. Clair vs. Durham - 10 a.m.
Losing team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of game
OCAA Gold Medal Game(s)
Game #6: Humber vs. Winner Game #5 - 1 p.m.
Game #7*: Humber vs. Winner Game #5 - 3:30 p.m.
*If necessary
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at the conclusion of final game
- OCAA -
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