WINDSOR, Ont. – Brodie Harkness (Bowmanville, Ont.) has made program history tonight, becoming the first Lord to be named OCAA pitcher of the year.
 
The left-handed pitcher follows four St. Clair pitchers before him, who have dominated the award since it began in 2013. Kyle Breitner won the award three times (2013, 2014, 2016), while his teammate Shane Courtney won in 2015.
 
Harkness and Steven Hough were neck-and-neck for much of the season for the top ERA in the conference. Harkness finished with a 1.85 ERA, trailing Hough's 1.80.
 
Both pitchers threw three complete games, had 4-1 records, while Harkness pitched one less inning. Where he was a step above his peers was strikeouts. He led the OCAA with 34 strikeouts and was efficient at the same time. His strikeout ratio for every nine innings was seven, only trailing St. Clair's Taylor Pappin who struck out 7.5 for every nine innings.
 
His successful season also included a no-hitter in London against the Fanshawe Falcons on October 1. Harkness was untouchable on the mound as he recorded eight strikeouts, while only allowing two base runners on errors.
 
"Brodie has worked hard to be a leader on the mound for our team and this award is a great recognition from others around the province of how he has improved this season," said Lords head coach Sam Dempster. "He is a great pitcher, great ambassador for Durham College and for baseball in the Durham Region. We're proud of him receiving this, but know he's mainly focused on helping us be successful at the championship this weekend."
 
Also being recognized by the OCAA at the awards banquet on Thursday night was Logan Stewart (Lindsay, Ont.). This is a first for Stewart, who finished 13^th in the OCAA with a .357 batting average, second on the Lords with 13 RBI, first in the OCAA with three home runs, and fourth with four doubles.
 
Of his home runs, one was a walk off over the defending national champion Fanshawe Falcons on September 16 at Kinsmen Civic Memorial Stadium. Trailing Fanshawe 8-7 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Stewart hit a two-run home run to give the Lords victory.
 
Durham will now open the OCAA championship at 11 a.m. on Friday in Tecumseh against the Humber Hawks. The host St. Clair Saints face the Fanshawe Falcons at 1:30 p.m.