Laurier finishes second in the OUA
Western defeats the Golden Hawks to win the Championship
The Golden Hawks felt a heartfelt loss as they witnessed the Western Mustangs walk away as the OUA Champions at their Bechtel Park home diamond in Waterloo.
The Mustangs beat the Golden Hawks in game one of the series by a final score of 6-0, and went on to win game two 3-1 taking the series and the championship.
“I’m obviously disappointed,” said head coach Scott Ballantyne. “But I think we have a lot to be proud of; we’ve made it further than any other team we’ve ever had.”
The Hawks finished their regular season with a 10-8 record, matching a Laurier baseball best. The second place finish also marks a first in the team’s history.
Game one of the series was played at the Labatt Centre in London. Mustang left handed pitcher and MVP of the game, Jordan Townshend led the team with 15 strikeouts in their 6-0 win.
Stephen Zagrodny was the Laurier starter for the first game, and OUA Rookie of the Year Andrew Greenberg threw in game two. First year Trent Barwick and second year Josh Robinson had strong showings as relief pitchers.
The Hawks looked to bounce back in game two of the series in front of a huge crowd at home.
“I thought we had a really good shot going into the game,” said third year Mike Kennedy. “Especially coming back to our home park; we’ve had a pretty good run there this season.”
The Mustang bullpen was on fire yet again though, with starting pitcher and MVP of the game Andrew Bergman as the team’s driving force, and Carlos Cabrero coming in at the clutch.
Western earned their first run of the game early in the first inning, which run would come back to haunt the Hawks going 1-0 into the bottom of the ninth inning.
A rally was started when Ryan Panas reached base on an error by Western’s first baseman. Brian MacDonald was then walked, and both runners went on to advance on a passed ball. Another walk saw Chris Pittaway load the bases.
In a pivotal play, Panas was picked off third base for the second out of the inning.
“To identify that he was a little bit too far off was a pretty smart play by their captain and third base man,” said Ballantyne. “It was our mistake and they capitalized on it.”
The Mustangs got out of the tight spot and went on to earn two runs in an extra inning of play - but not before the Golden Hawks gave them a good showing.
Captain Scott Mahn walked to first base to yet again load the bases. Kennedy was brought in as a pinch hitter and did exactly that, earning an RBI single.
“I thought it gave us pretty good momentum tying the game up,” said Kennedy. “I definitely thought we could’ve ended it that inning.”
The Hawks fell 3-1 to the Mustangs in the final game of the series and of the season.
“The crowd support and school spirit that we saw today was phenomenal,” said Ballantyne. “We had a great season and I’m proud of each of the guys.”
