Dei Baning headlines award winners for Humber Baseball
OSHAWA – The two-time defending OCAA champion Humber baseball team garnered some more league hardware Wednesday afternoon when the OCAA announced its yearly awards as determined by a polling of the conference's coaches.
Senior Dennis Dei Baning left his best season for last, and his numbers did not go unnoticed. The Toronto native was named the OCAA Player of the Year after leading the league in home runs, runs scored, runs batted in, and slugging percentage. In just 14 games, Dei Baning set new program records with five home runs and 27 RBIs and concludes his career as Humber's all-time leader in the same categories. Now a two-time league all-star, Dei Baning joins Sean Mattson and Liam Sutherland as the only players in Humber baseball history to be named the player of the year.
Joining Humber as a pitcher in 2017, Stephen Nahrabeki transitioned into the top leader-off hitter in the province. The Mississauga native was a table-setter for Humber's high-octane offence, leading the program with 23 runs scored and a .596 on-base percentage. Named an all-star for the first time in his career, Nahrabeki was also the OCAA batting champion with a .478 batting average – the third-highest mark in program history. His career .433 batting average is a new Humber record and the third-highest average in OCAA history.
Third-year infielder Aidan Murphy was also named to the All-Ontario squad for the first time, finishing third in the OCAA with three home runs and second with 20 RBIs. On September 25 against Centennial, Murphy had one of the best offensive games in OCAA history. The Brampton native slugged two long balls – including a grand slam – setting the OCAA record with nine RBIs in one game. His five hits were a new program record and tied the OCAA record.
Right-handed pitcher Dalton Brownlee had a brilliant rookie campaign for the Hawks, finishing with a 2-1 record and a 3.00 earned run average in 18.1 innings of work. Named to the All-Ontario team in just his first season, the Innisfil native led the league with 32 strikeouts, while averaging a program record of 12 strikeouts-per-seven innings and finishing second in voting for the pitcher of the year. In his OCAA debut on Sept. 17 against Lambton, Brownlee fired the sixth no-hitter in program history, striking out 12 hitters in five innings of work.
Since the establishment of Humber baseball in 2013, the Hawks have now received 24 All-Ontario selections.
The announcement of league award winners marks the beginning of the OCAA Championship, hosted by Durham College. The two-time defending champions will open the tournament on Oct. 21 in the play-in game against George Brown. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.