HAWKS ARMED AND READY FOR RUN AT 2015 OCAA CROWN
LONDON, ON: The Humber Hawks men's baseball team relied heavily on its pitching staff this season, one that led them to a second place finish in the OCAA regular season standings. This coming weekend the team will once again look to this fine staff to lead them to a podium finish at the OCAA Men's Baseball Provincial championships which are to be hosted by Fanshawe in London.
In an unusual twist, the Hawks will play the host Fanshawe Falcons in the Falcons' home field at Labatt Park, but Humber will be awarded home team status based on winning the tie breaker between the two clubs. The first pitch is set for 11:00 am.
The baseball play-downs are a double knockout format, the losers will play at 4:00 pm and the winners at 6:30 pm. Simply put, those teams winning game one will be guaranteed a medal, and should a team win twice on Friday they will advance directly to the Gold Medal round.
As mentioned above, the Hawks and Falcons had identical records at 12-8, and tied the season series with two wins each. The difference in determining the home team came via plus/minus, with Humber outscoring Fanshawe 33-20.
In the arms race between the two clubs, the nod seems to favour the Hawks, as they allowed only 63 runs in the 20 games played. The Falcons had some stellar pitching performances at points during the year, but still yielded 102 runs.
Veteran lefty James Byrnes leads the Hawks with a remarkable ERA of 1.22. In fact, with the exception of one pitcher, every Hawk starter has an ERA well under 4.00. The Falcons have a deep staff, with many contributors, as nine different pitchers have at least one win on the year.
Sean Mattson continues to be one of the most feared players in the league, with his average hovering well above the .400 mark and his league second best 23 RBI's. His 427' moon shot over the 402' sign in centerfield at Connorvale is the longest in Hawks history. Seven Hawks boast averages above the .300 mark. St. Clair College transfer and current Falcon Chris McQueen won the batting title with his .444 average. His 28 hits was also a league high. He is supported by a couple of .300 plus hitters, in Mike Ambrose and Ian Kerrigan.
Three keys to the first game, and perhaps the entire play-downs come to the forefront. First is the Hawks ability to score in multiple innings, as they have been able to score early but the ability to tack on insurance runs has been a challenge recently. Humber's eight losses this year has come by a total of only nine runs, indicating a little more offence would have gone a long way.
Secondly, the pitchers must consistently pound the strike zone, as free passes have been a problem. The Hawks are blessed with the best outfield in the league, a solid infield and an above average game caller behind the plate. Pitching to contact may be a tact to consider.
The third and final key to a Hawks championship run is being able to close out games. Seeing opponents coming from behind or tied late in games has happened on more than just a single occasion, with teams actually coming back from multiple run deficits in their last at-bat.
Humber is in a solid position to challenge for the title, and as mentioned in the headline, have depth in pitching which should suit them well in the two-day double-knockout format that greets them this week.
Tournament Website:
https://www.fanshawec.ca/athletics/ocaabaseball
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