TECUMSEH, Ont. - The reigning Ontario Colleges Athletic Association champion St. Clair Saints play host to the 2022 OCAA Men's Baseball Championship taking place Oct. 20-22 at Lacasse Park in Tecumseh, Ont.
Six teams will compete for a chance to take home the gold medal. In the first eight seasons of OCAA men's baseball, only the Humber Hawks and St. Clair have won the championship, with the latter winning six times. Both just happen to top the OCAA regular season standings this season with identical 17-1 records.
Eight or nine games will take place between Thursday and Saturday in a modified double knockout tournament. Thursday's games will be sudden death affairs with the losing teams being eliminated.
Thursday's winners will join St. Clair and Humber to begin the double-knockout phase of the competition, playing two games each on Friday. Teams are eliminated from the competition after their second loss. Schools are seeded based on regular season record.
The team that wins both games on Friday advances directly to Saturday's gold medal game, with two chances to win the championship. The team that avoids a second loss wins the tournament and the OCAA title.
Sunday is reserved as a rainout date if necessary.
Humber Hawks (17-1, 1st OCAA)
The Humber Hawks enter the championship with an OCAA-high 15-game winning streak. Humber earned the top seed winning a tie-breaker over St. Clair, due to outscoring the Saints 14-12 in their doubleheader split back on Sept. 11.
Pitching is Humber's strength, boasting a league-best 2.46 ERA and 166 strikeouts. That is over one earned run better and 42 strikeouts more than their closest competition. Fourth-year pitcher Brandon Deans (Mississauga) shouldered much of the workload pitching 31 innings with a 1.58 ERA and 63 strikeouts, a new OCAA single-season record.
Second-year player Hudson Lockwood (Burlington) was heavily involved in the offence for the Hawks this season, scoring 17 runs while driving in 22 RBI. The second-year player also had seven stolen bases and a .529 on base percentage.
St. Clair Saints (17-1, 2nd OCAA)
The St. Clair Saints are owners of a 14-game winning streak entering the championship, matching Humber win-for-win since splitting their doubleheader on Sept. 11. St. Clair won the opener 8-6 before dropping the nightcap 8-4.
If Humber is built on pitching, then St. Clair is built on offence, scoring a league-high 217 total runs, a new OCAA single-season record. St. Clair's 192 RBI in 2022 is also an OCAA record.
First-year centrefielder Ethan Paulos (Ancaster) is the first OCAA player to score 32 times in a season. Second-year outfielder Hunter Appleyard (LaSalle) had a 20-20-20 season with 24 RBI, 23 runs scored and 23 hits, and a slash line of .489/.593/.745.
The competition for Humber and St. Clair begins on Friday as both await the winners of Thursday's play-in games.
Fanshawe Falcons (11-7, 3rd OCAA)
Fanshawe broke out of a three-way deadlock for third place, claiming the third seed at the championship following a tie-breaker.
Falcons fourth-year outfielder Faris Adamou (Mississauga) was the OCAA co-leader with a dozen stolen bases during the regular season, being caught just once. Adamou's .429 batting average was also among the league leaders.
Fanshawe is a five-time OCAA medalist, with two silver medals and three bronzes.
Centennial Colts (11-7, 4th OCAA)
In just its second season of OCAA competition, the Centennial Colts have earned their way into the championship for the first time.
Centennial have the honour of most improved team in 2022, coming off a 3-11 debut season in 2021. Pitching is a strength of the team, with first-year teammates Brandon Smith (Vaughan) and Liam Oates (Brampton) combining for a 9-1 record, throwing 63 innings while striking out 50. The duo allowed just a dozen earned runs for a 1.33 ERA.
Centennial's 77 total earned runs allowed was third in the league behind Humber and St. Clair.
Durham Lords (11-7, 5th OCAA)
Rounding out the trio of 11-7 teams are the Durham Lords, who have three times made it to the OCAA gold medal game only to come out with silver, the last being in 2019.
Statistically Durham scored more runs during the regular season than all other teams except St. Clair. The Lords combined for a dozen home runs, six more than their closest rivals. They also stole 74 bases, 21 more than second-best Fanshawe.
Second-year player Tyler Chong (Markham) is the OCAA batting champion with a .519 average, the only player to eclipse .500. First-year player Eddie Borutskie (Oshawa) was third among OCAA players batting .442.
Three Lords combined for 31 stolen bases, more than any other trio in the OCAA, including Chong's 10, Borutskie's nine and a dozen for first-year infielder Blake Jolicoeur (Whitby) who was the OCAA co-leader with Fanshawe's Adamou. Jolicoeur also led all OCAA players with four home runs and 42 total bases.
George Brown Huskies (9-9, 6th OCAA)
George Brown has one advantage heading into the championship, having already played an elimination game. Both George Brown and Seneca entered the final regular season game this past Sunday against each other with identical 8-9 records. The Huskies went on to clinch the final championship berth with a 12-3 win.
George Brown is also improved compared to last season's 3-11 record, only to be eclipsed by Centennial's two extra wins. Last season came down to a tiebreaker between these teams as George Brown advanced to the championship. Now both teams are in Tecumseh.
Brady Wagenhoffer (Newmarket) led the offence for the Huskies with a .418 batting average, scoring 23 runs while driving in 21 RBI. The second-year catcher was second among OCAA players with 40 total bases.
The championship opens Thursday with Fanshawe taking on George Brown. These team split the season series on Oct. 8, with George Brown winning 6-4 and Fanshawe winning 7-4. The following game pits Centennial against Durham. These teams also split the season series back on Sept. 10 with Durham winning 10-3 and Centennial winning 9-2.
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/base
Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive
Thursday, October 20
Game #1: George Brown (6th) vs. Fanshawe (3rd) - 4 p.m.
Game #2: Durham (5th) vs. Centennial (4th) - 6:30 p.m.
Friday, October 21
Game #3: Highest Remaining Seed vs. St. Clair (2nd) - 11 a.m
Game #4: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. Humber (1st) - 1:30 p.m.
Game #5: Loser Game #3 vs. Loser Game #4 - 4 p.m.
Game #6: Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 22
OCAA Bronze Medal Game
Game #7: Winner Game #5 vs. Loser Game #6 - 10 a.m.
Losing team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of game
OCAA Gold Medal Game(s)
Game #8: Winner Game #7 vs. Winner Game #6 - 1 p.m.
Game #9*: Winner Game #7 vs. Winner Game #6 - 3:30 p.m.
*If necessary
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at the conclusion of final game
- OCAA -
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E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com
