HAWKS UNABLE TO BREAK THROUGH IN TWO TIGHT AFFAIRS
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Clair | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
|
Humber | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Clair | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 4 |
|
Humber | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
Recap By: Paul Mcgeown
ETOBICOKE, Ontario: The Hawks continue to be a thorn in the side of defending champion St. Clair, but they dropped two more nail-biters to the Saints on Saturday. The Saints won 8-7 and 3-1, the second game in extra innings, on a windy and rainy day at Connorvale Park in Etobicoke.
Humber got out to a quick 3-0 lead in game 1. Kenny Hahnfeld hit a sac fly with 1 out to bring home Daniel Campos, Brendan Lyons hit a double off the glove of right-fielder Tristan Bouchat to bring home another, and DH Andrew Thomson brought home Lyons with an RBI single.
St. Clair got two runs back in the 3rd to make it a one-run game. Humber starter Brandon Catena then pitched a perfect 4th, but the Saints broke through in the 5th, scoring 6 runs and knocking Catena out of the game. After catcher Blake Kauer caught Eric Cunningham stealing for the second out, seven straight Saints reached base.
Humber came to bat in the 5th down 8-3, and with Saints starter Kyle Breitner looking stronger each inning. But Daniel Campos walked and scored on a Lenny Wood single, and Wood scored on a Hahnfeld groundout after stealing 3rd. Then in the 6th, Wood's second RBI of the game — a sac fly that scored Casey Espana — brought Humber to within two at 8-6. Humber had runners at first and third with two outs and Sean Mattson at the plate, but Saints catcher Eric Cunningham gunned down Campos on a steal attempt to end the inning.
Hawks reliever Brandon Costa pitched out of a bases loaded jam in 7th, showing some guile in his first appearance of the year and giving Humber one more shot at tying things up. The Hawks did add one more to bring the tying run to the plate, but St. Clair reliever Shane Courtney shut things down to secure the victory for the visitors.
Game 2 began under some light rain, and despite the slick conditions it was a pitcher's duel from the start. Humber once again struck first, this time in the 2nd inning, scoring Stephen Andreopolous from third mere seconds before Blake Kauer was tagged out in a rundown. But St. Clair starter Teiden Frias used an excellent two-seam fastball to keep Humber off-balance going forward. After Humber's two 2nd-inning singles, Frias didn't allow a hit.
Humber's own lefty starter, James Byrnes, went toe-to-toe with Frias all afternoon. Byrnes had pitched just 4 innings all season, but after three innings had faced the minimum, and allowed just 3 baserunners through the 5th. In the 6th, though, a leadoff walk to Saints second baseman Tristan Boutette turned into the tying run after back-to-back sacrifice bunts and a throwing error.
Things remained tied after seven, so it was on to extra innings. Byrnes remained in the game into the 9th, where he retired the first two Saints he faced. But a walk to Jeff Watkin brought up Saints slugger Matt Ayarza, who slapped an innocent-looking grounder to third. As first baseman Brendan Lyons reached behind him for the throw, his glove hand got jammed in the chest of Ayarza, sending Lyons to the ground and allowing the go-ahead run to cross the plate. St. Clair would add one more on a Roberto Duncan RBI single to go up 3-1, which proved to be the final.
With the win, St. Clair improved to 12-0, tying the OCAA record for best start to a season.
