Deans sets OCAA record; Baseball sweeps Durham

By: Stefan Gerardi
Humber Athletics Communications

ETOBICOKE – With the Humber Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 in attendance, the Hawks baseball team swept the Durham Lords (7-7, 6th OCAA) in their twin-bill matchup. The legendary presence at Connorvale Park sparked Humber's fiery offence, while impressive pitching from Dalton Brownlee and Brandon Deans shut down Durham's bats. The Hall of Famers witnessed a record-breaking night from Deans as he set an OCAA milestone for most strikeouts in a season while tying his OCAA record for most strikeouts in a game.

More on the Humber Varsity Hall of Fame class of 2022 can be found here.

Game One (Humber 9, Durham 1)

The game kicked off with a three up, three down inning from Hawks' second-year starting pitcher Dalton Brownlee. In the bottom of the first inning, Lords' pitcher Thomas Aronowicz walked the first three Humber batters he faced. This allowed for a Jaykob Turner groundout to cash Hudson Lockwood, putting Humber ahead by a single run.

After another shutdown inning from Brownlee, the Hawks would capitalize in their half of the inning, adding three more runs. With runners on the corners, Burlington native Hudson Lockwood singled to drive in Ryan Brodie. Two batters later, Aidan Murphy would also record an RBI single to bring Caleb Eguren home. Catcher Dylan White would join the RBI party as well, scoring Lockwood to put Humber up, 4-0.

In the third inning, Hudson Lockwood would continue his impressive outing by driving in Ryan Brodie for his second RBI of the game. Lockwood's stinger to right-centre field was the outfielder's 14th RBI of the season and Humber's fifth run of the evening.

The Hawks kept on rolling in the fourth. After Dylan White was walked following an 0-2 count to start the at-bat, Justin Groves hit a two-run shot to deep left field, adding to Humber's lead. This was the Peterborough native's first career OCAA home run. Ryan Brodie would later find his way home on a wild pitch, while Tyrus Bath would score on a Hudson Lockwood sac fly for his third RBI of the game.

Durham would get across an unearned run in the top of the fifth; however, the Hawks would shut down the Lords offensively for the rest of the game to win 9-1.

Dalton Brownlee has found his stride heading into the postseason push, earning his third straight victory. The Innisfil native recorded six strikeouts in five innings of work, allowing one unearned run. Corey Vandegraaf closed the game for the Hawks and allowed no runs over two innings of work.

Game Two (Humber 3, Durham 2)

After a short ceremony dedicated to the Baseball Class of '22, game two was ready to get underway. The ceremony lit a fire under Brandon Deans as he was prepared to put on a legendary performance of his own in front of Hawks' baseball royalty.

The hard-throwing righty entered the game with his eye on the conference strikeout record of 50, set by St. Clair's Kyle Breitner in 2013. Through three innings, Deans racked up seven punchouts, but the Hawks trailed Durham by two. Humber came storming back in the home half of the third when Aidan Murphy crushed a two-run triple down the right-field line. 

Another RBI from Aidan Murphy in the fifth gave Deans a one-run lead heading into the sixth inning. Already sitting at 12 strikeouts on the night and 50 for the season, he secured his title as strikeout king of the OCAA, blowing an explosive fastball by Durham's Blake Jolicoeur for the second out of the inning. Deans would add one more strikeout to finish the frame, before adding two more in the seventh inning.

Deans put up video game-like numbers in this one, tying his OCAA record with 16 strikeouts, earning his fourth win and throwing his third complete game.

Humber Highlights

• Deans' four wins are tied for most in program history.
• Justin Groves now sits second in the OCAA with 17 RBIs.
• The Hawks' all-time record against Durham now stands at 25-16.
• Humber improves to 6-0 at home on the 2022 season

What's next?

The Hawks will return to Connorvale Park on Oct. 7 for a double-header home matchup against the Sault College Cougars. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hawks Sports Network.