Silver lining for the Durham College men's baseball team

OCAA Men's Baseball Championship:
Durham College wins the OCAA Silver Medal and advances to OCAA/OUA Baseball Championship

OSHAWA, Ont. - On day two of the OCAA Championship in Windsor, the Durham College men's baseball team earned a silver medal and a trip to the OUA/OCAA Baseball Championship after defeating Humber 11-5 in the bronze medal game before falling to St. Clair College 5-2 in the gold medal game.

When asked about the weekend as a whole, head coach Sam Dempster praised his team for rebounding after a loss in the opening game of the tournament.

"After the way we started, I was kind of glad we responded the way we did and we were able to pull it together," said Dempster. "We can play with anybody if we put our minds to it."

In the bronze medal game against Humber, the Lords saw a complete team effort earn the victory as outstanding plays were made at the plate, in the field and on the mound.

Durham converted 15 hits into 11 runs in the victory scoring in five of the seven innings. Outstanding performances at the plate were had by game MVP and tournament all-star Michael Cyr (Whitby, Ont.), who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, designated hitter David Fischer (Oshawa, Ont.) who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and four runs scored, and catcher Jack Lang (Pickering, Ont.) who was also named a tournament all-star and went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored in the bronze medal game.

Strong performers in the field included shortstop Ryan George (Whitby, Ont.) who showed strong fielding skills all tournament long consistently converting infield hits into outs and centre fielder Spencer Green (Mallorytown, Ont.) who showcased excellent range including on the last out of the bronze medal game, when he ran down a deep fly ball to secure the teams place in the finals.

Starting pitcher Dale Valade (North Bay, Ont.) pitched all seven innings and earned the crucial win with a strong mix of pitches and solid defence including a diving effort on a popped up bunt attempt. Valade amassed six strikeouts while allowing only six hits and five earned runs.

In the gold medal game, the Lords came up short after being unable to capitalize with runners in scoring position. The Lords had several occasions with multiple runners on base but stranded a total of 10 in the loss.

OCAA batting champion Aaron McQuillen (Ajax, Ont.) led the way at the plate using his speed to go 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Keenan Terwillegar (Enniskillen, Ont.) collected the Lords other RBI while Green showcased his ability to consistently get on base collecting two doubles, a walk, and a hit by pitch.

Ilija Bosinovski (Ajax, Ont.) was the only pitcher used in the outing and performed admirably pitching six innings while allowing only five hits and two earned runs with one strikeout.

With the second place finish, the Lords prolonged their season another week as they qualified for the OUA/OCAA championship taking place October 25-26 in St. Catharines.

OCAA Championship Results
Game 1: Humber defeated Durham 14-4
Game 2: St. Clair defeated George Brown 20-2
Game 3: Durham defeated George Brown 9-3
Game 4: St. Clair defeated Humber 12-2

Bronze Medal Game
Game 5: Durham defeated Humber 11-5

Gold Medal Game
Game 6: St. Clair defeated Durham 5-2

Final Medal Placing
Gold Medal – St. Clair College
Silver Medal – Durham College
Bronze Medal – Humber College

Championship MVP
Chris Horwood (St. Clair)

Championship All-Star Team
Dane Gordon (George Brown)
George Halim (Humber)
Jack Lang (Durham)
Michael Cyr (Durham)
Ryan Kerstens (St. Clair)

Fair Play Award
George Halim (Humber College)

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