McMaster defeats Brock to capture OUA Baseball Championship
HAMILTON, Ont. - The Jason Guindon Memorial Cup is going
home.
The McMaster Marauders won their first OUA baseball championship in
school history on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Brock Badgers
2-1 in Game 2 at Bernie Arbour Stadium in Hamilton and sweeping the
best-of-three OUA Baseball Championship Series. The Marauders won
Game 1 in St. Catharines by a 4-3 score on Friday night.
Game 2 was a pitcher’s duel as McMaster’s Chris Piccini
(Mississauga, Ont.) and Brock’s Jordan Prosper (Oshawa, Ont.)
matched each other pitch for pitch. With the game deadlocked at one
in the bottom of the eighth inning, it was Prosper who blinked as
leftfielder Sean Lemon (Mississauga, Ont.) drove in Matthew Piccini
(Mississauga, Ont.) for the game-winning run. Lemon was named Pizza
Pizza Player of the Game, going 2-for-4 in the contest.
Chris Piccini went the distance for the victory, allowing one
earned run on five hits, striking out nine Badgers. He was named
tournament MVP, sponsored by Wilson. While he was held hitless on
Saturday, he went 1-for-4 with a run scored on Friday.
In Game 1, McMaster catcher Devlin Connelly (Toronto, Ont.)
recorded a clutch two-run single in the seventh inning to give the
Marauders the lead for good. Matthew Piccini got the win, allowing
one earned run in seven innings.
For Brock, it was their fourth consecutive trip to the OUA Baseball
Championship Series without a title to show for it. The Badgers did
have some impressive performances, most notably Jason Emers
(Welland, Ont.) who stuck out 15 Marauders on Friday night, only to
come away with a loss. At the plate, first baseman Casey Burnie
(Peterborough, Ont.) went 4-for-6 in the series, including a double
in Game 2. He scored a run, and drove in another.
McMaster finished the regular season with a 10-8 record, knocking
out the top two regular season teams in the playoffs. McMaster
swept the 11-7 Western Mustangs in two games in the semi-finals,
and then defeated the 14-4 Badgers in the championship.
The Marauders received a ton of recognition prior to their
championship victory, as Chris Piccini was named OUA’s Most
Valuable Hitter, leading the league with a .390 batting average. He
knocked out 21 hits, scored 12 times and stole 12 bases during the
regular season. Skipper Wayne Gowan was named OUA Coach of the
Year.
Chris Piccini was also named an OUA First Team All-Star, along with
first baseman John McGregor (Ottawa, Ont.), Lemon, designated
hitter Ryan Hurley (Ingersoll, Ont.) and relief pitcher Greg Swan
(Dundas, Ont.). Connelly was named to the Second Team.
It is only fitting that the Marauders have finally won its first
title on the diamond, as the championship trophy is in honour of
the person who helped establish the McMaster baseball program.
Jason Guindon helped create the first Canadian University Baseball
League, which set the foundation for baseball’s inclusion in
Ontario University Athletics beginning in 2001. He was also one of
the original coaches at the university level at McMaster.
Guindon lost his life tragically in a car accident in the summer of
1998 as he pursued his dream of seeing a baseball game in every
Major League Baseball stadium in North America. He was 26.
The Guindon family and McMaster University donated the trophy in
2004 to honour Jason’s memory.
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions
are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes
the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field,
while preparing for life after university. For more information,
visit OUA.ca.
