HAWKS OPEN 2016 OCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ON FRIDAY VS. FANSHAWE

HAWKS OPEN 2016 OCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ON FRIDAY VS. FANSHAWE

BREAKING NEWS.....GAME HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL SATURDAY AT 11:00 AM

 

ETOBICOKE, ON: The Humber Hawks and London's Fanshawe Falcons will open up the 2016 OCAA Men's Baseball Championship on Friday, October 21 at 11:00 am, at Connorvale Park in beautiful southern Etobicoke.

The event, which is hosted by Humber College is a double knockout event and scheduled for two days, Friday and Saturday, October 21 and 22, 2016. Sunday, October 23 has been reserved as a rain day.

The Hawks and Falcons finished up the 2016 regular season with identical 13-7 records, but the Humber squad won the tie-breaker, based on defeating the Falcons in all four games played. With the tie-breaker decision, it will be the Hawks who will be designated as the home team for the tournament opener on Friday morning.

Each and every game has been tight, hotly contested matches, with comebacks being the norm. This no better highlighted than Andrew Thomson's walk-off grand slam to win the first battle of the birds. The two teams met just over a week ago, with Humber winning by scores of 6-3 and 9-5.

Both teams boast solid pitching staffs, strong defensive play and the ability to hit at key times in games.

The pitching edge looks to fall in the favour of the hometown Hawks. Humber has surrendered 13 less runs than the Falcons on the year, and best the visitors by almost three runs a game in ERA in games between the two teams.

After a mid-season turn around, the Hawks found their hitting stroke, and although scoring 35 runs less than Fanshawe, Humber ended the season with a better overall team batting average. Fanshawe has outdistanced Humber in extra base hits by 14 and have out-homered Humber 3-2.

The speed game is very similar, as both teams have put up solid numbers.

Coaching is a wash, with both head coaches having significant success heading their teams. The Falcons Brian Harvey led his squad to an OCAA silver medal last year, while Humber's Denny Berni was the 2015 OCAA men's baseball coach of the year.

Playoff history is on Fanshawe's side, as they have met up with the Hawks twice, and won both meetings.

The Hawks are looking to build on a successful year against the Falcons, and hoping that home field, and the support that comes with it will spur them on to victory.

The winning team will advance to the championship semi-final round at 7:00 pm against the winner of the Durham/St. Clair match up. The loser will take the field at 4:30 pm, with the loser of that game being eliminated.

Entrance is free for all games, but please note that there is no parking available in the lot immediately adjacent to the field. Street parking only.

BRTV, the Official broadcaster of Humber Hawks games will be on site, and the games will be streamed live on:

https://www.youtube.com/user/hawksrock121/live

Official Tournament Website