AURORA, Ont. - The Seneca Sting play host to the 2023 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Baseball Championship taking place Oct. 19-21 at Stewart Burnett Park in Aurora, Ont.
Six teams will compete for a chance to take home the gold medal. In the first nine seasons of OCAA men's baseball, only the Humber Hawks and St. Clair Saints have won the championship, with the latter winning seven times.
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 top teams St. Clair and the Durham Lords 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.
St. Clair Saints (16-2, 1st OCAA)
The St. Clair Saints have won back-to-back OCAA championships and would love nothing more than to close out the first decade of OCAA men's baseball with an eighth overall title.
Pitching is a strong part of St. Clair's modus operandi with a league-low 43 earned runs allowed and 2.63 team ERA. St. Clair is also second among the league offensive leaders with 149 runs scored, 165 hits, 40 stolen bases and .335 batting average.
A couple of Saints topped a couple of key statistical categories. Third-year catcher Henry Real (Panama) had a league-leading .578 batting average. Second-year catcher Cody Moore (LaSalle) had the league's best ERA at 0.91 in 23 innings of work.
Durham Lords (15-3, 2nd OCAA)
The Durham Lords took the league by storm with their best regular season record in OCAA play. But do they have what it takes to break the St. Clair-Humber championship stranglehold?
Offensively, the Lords chased .400 for the season, settling for a .394 batting average. Their 220 hits sets a new OCAA standard to go along with a league-high 205 runs and 178 RBI. They even stole an OCAA-best 49 bases.
Third-year outfielder/catcher Cole Cote (Welland) set new OCAA single season records with 34 hits and 37 RBI to go with a slash line of .567/.623/.900. Nick King (Whitby) had a 1.50 ERA with a .161 batting average against during the regular season.
At the top two seeds, both St. Clair and Durham earned byes into the double-elimination round at the championship and will begin on Friday.
Humber Hawks (13-5, 3rd OCAA)
Despite a strong regular season record, the Humber Hawks are facing elimination on the first day of the championship.
If pitching and defence wins championships, the Hawks are comforted in knowing their staff had the league's second-best ERA of 3.16, allowing only 51 earned runs in 18 games while surrendering a league-low 22 errors.
On the base paths, second-year outfielder Justin Groves (Peterborough) was among the league leaders with 11 stolen bases. Groves contributed a slash line of .333/.484/.542 at the dish.
Fanshawe Falcons (9-9, 4th OCAA)
The Fanshawe Falcons showed it's not how you start, it's how you finish, as the Birds had an 8-2 record in their final 10 games to secure their place at the championship.
Offensively, these Redbirds have some pop, leading the league with 13 home runs and second with 30 doubles. Fanshawe was in the middle of the pack when it came to stolen bases, but when the Falcons do steal, they are usually successful, being caught just one time.
First-year infielder Riley Wheeler (Shelburne) was among the top players with seven round trippers and 28 RBI.
Centennial Colts (9-9, 5th OCAA)
The Centennial Colts are back at the OCAA championship, having and up-and-down year but coming up with big victories over Durham and Humber in the back half of the season.
Third-year outfielder Riley Briggs (Whitby) was among the OCAA's Top 5 statistically with 24 hits, 22 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases.
The Centennial-Fanshawe match-up is a rematch of a double-knockout elimination game a year ago, with Fanshawe prevailing 8-4. The Falcons ended the championship with the bronze medal and also swept the regular season series between these teams.
Seneca Sting (4-14, 9th OCAA)
As host, the Seneca Sting earned a direct entry into the championship and will be the bottom seed for as long as they remain in the competition.
On paper, it will be a tall task for the host. The Sting are winless against the other five teams at the championship, and will need to upend perennial powerhouse Humber in an elimination game.
A bright spot for Seneca has been the pitching of first-year student-athlete Cole Devine (Burlington). Devine boasts and ERA of 2.78 in 27 2/3 innings of work.
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/base
Live Webcast: www.ocaalive.com
Thursday, October 19
Game #1: Centennial (5th) vs. Fanshawe (4th) - 11 a.m.
Game #2: Seneca (6th) vs. Humber (3rd) - 2 p.m.
Friday, October 20
Game #3: Highest Remaining Seed vs. Durham (2nd) - 9 a.m
Game #4: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. St. Clair (1st) - 11:30 a.m.
Game #5: Loser Game #3 vs. Loser Game #4 - 2:30 p.m.
Game #6: Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 5 p.m.
Saturday, October 21
OCAA Bronze Medal Game
Game #7: Winner Game #5 vs. Loser Game #6 - 9 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 - 12 p.m.
Game #9*: Winner Game #7 vs. Winner Game #6 - 2:30 p.m.
*If necessary
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at the conclusion of final game
- OCAA -
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