October 2, 2012
BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Playoff picture becoming clearer
Gryphons move to 12-5 with a 3-win Weekend and Clinch Playoff Spot
In the OUA baseball season each weekend is bigger than the one before, and this was certainly the case going into this weekend’s action for the Gryphons. Guelph was facing the defending champs from the University of Toronto for two games on Saturday and going into London for two tough road games with the 12-3 Western Mustangs on Sunday.
The offence stepped up in the first inning of game one on Saturday. After a Anthony Interisano (Guelph, Ont.) double scored Peter Ricciardi (Pickering, Ont.) from third, Ryan Thompson (Caledon, Ont.) crushed a two run homer off of Toronto ace Marek Deska to give the Gryphs an early 3-1 lead. The Varsity Blues answered back with 3 off of starter Brendan Sorichetti (Whitby, Ont.) in the second to take a 4-3 lead. Steven Fleischer (Brampton, Ont.) knocked in Ricciardi in the third to cut the lead 5-4, but that was all Guelph could put up against Deska as Toronto held on for a 5-4 win.
Game two became even more important for Guelph after dropping game one, and they called on their ace Lucas Borges to get the job done on the mound. Borges squared off with veteran lefty Drew Taylor for Toronto and both pitchers were stellar. With the score 0-0 in the fifth, the Gryphs broke through with a two out rally. Kyle Westwater (Milton, Ont.) drove a triple into the left center field gap, and on the very next pitch, center fielder Kevin Winters (Newmarket, Ont.) cashed Westwater from thrid with a clutch single to right. Borges would not need more than that run as he retired the final seven batters in a row for the complete game 1-0 shutout.
Western was waiting for Guelph on Sunday having won six out of their previous seven games. Pitching was again the focus in game one as Gryphs righty Brook Coatsworth (Guelph, Ont.) took the mound against his former team. Coatsworth changed speeds all day and had Mustangs hitters off balance from the get go.
Guelph took the lead in the second as Interisano and Westwater both singled and Interisano was able to score from 3rd as Westwater was caught up in a rundown. Coatsworth was helped by a terrific throw from right fielder Marc Mongillo in the fourth to record an out at home and keep the score 1-0.
Western tied it up in the bottom of the fifth and that's how it stayed into the seventh. Guelph loaded the bases with one out and had a golden opportunity to take the lead, but Mustang's starter Christian Davies recorded a strikeout and a groundout to get out without any damage.
Western got two runners on in the bottom of the 7th and had the middle of their order coming up as Guelph turned to reliever Kevin Lagerquist (Brampton, Ont.) to get them out of the jam. As he did the week before against McMaster, Lagerquist came into a pressure situation and came through getting two ground balls to send the game to extra innings.
In the 8th, rookie second baseman Wade Sage was hit by a pitch, and after moving to second on a wild pitch was bunted over to third by shortstop Dean Mariani(Mississauga, Ont.). Ricciardi reached first on an error by the catcher and with runners on the corners, Guelph executed a double steal with Ricciardi stealing second and Sage scoring the go ahead run from third. With two outs Mongillo provided a huge insurance run with a line drive to center field. Lagerquist came back out for the 8th and retired the Mustangs in order, including a sliding catch from 3rd baseman Sean Molony that coach Matt Grififn said was "the finest defensive play he had seen in his 10 years as part of the OUA". The result was a hard fought 3-1 win for the Gryphs.
Game two saw Guelph send second year starter Jordan Abram (Barrie, Ont.)to the mound looking for his 3rd win of the season. After a Ricciardi single to start the game and another RBI from Interisano, Guelph had taken an early 1-0 lead. Abram was terrific through four innings striking out a season high five batters. Mongillo and Interisano each added another RBI and the Gryphs were up 4-0 going into the bottom of the 5th.
Things came unglued for Guelph as a combination of defensive miscues and timely Western hitting opened the door for a 6 run inning. Rookie reliever Stephen Fried came in for Abram in the 6th and got out of a jam to keep the score 7-5 Western going into the 7th. Sean Molony led off the inning by driving a double down the right field line, and that was followed up by Mongillo picking up his fourth hit of the day with a single to right.
Western turned to their closer, hard throwing Paul Lytwynec to face Interisano with the tying run on 1st base. With the two strikes on him, Interisano delivered the biggest hit of his incredible season. Justin turned on a letter high fast ball and belted a three run home run that cleared not only the outfield fence, but also the 15 foot high wooden fence that encloses the field. The tape measure home run was his 7th of the year and turned a 7-5 deficit into an 8-7 lead. The Gryphs added one more as veteran outfielder Andrew Lindley stole 2nd and 3rd base and scored as his hard slide knocked the ball into left field.
After Western worked a lead-off walk, it was time for another Rookie to come in and contribute as Guelph turned to Jeffrey Snelgrove to try and close the door. As he has in each of his three previous outings, Snelgrove was spectacualar retiring all three batters he faced and giving the Gryphs a dramatic 9-8 come from behind victory moving Guelph ahead of Western and into second place.
After this weekend of solid work, the Gryphons clinched their first playoff berth since 2004 with the win.
Griffin said after the game "this is a team in the truest sense of the word. We have had contributions from so many guys and the way that this group pulls for each other and the effort that's being put in makes it a special group to be around."
Guelph closes the regular season with four home games starting Wednesday at 7:30 pm against McMaster. The Gryphs look to keep the momentum going as they continue towards their goal of bringing Guelph its first OUA baseball championship.
Source: Guelph Athletics
Brock baseball clinches playoff berth with split against Laurier
WATERLOO, Ont. - The Brock University baseball team (19-7 overall, 13-3 OUA) clinched a playoff berth this afternoon on the road as they split a doubleheader against the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Badgers won Game One 1-0 and dropped Game Two by the score of 2-1.
In Game One, Brock junior righthander Justin Ayles (Brampton, Ont.) threw this third straight complete game. Over seven innings of work, Ayles allowed just two hits while striking out five. Laurier's Brett Van Pelt also went the distance giving up one run on four hits with three strikeouts.
Brock senior Cameron Graham (Sarnia, Ont.) led the top of the second off with a double. One batter later, junior Bill Sloat (Woodstock, Ont.) added a single to left field scoring Graham, which would prove to be the game-winning run. The two other Brock hits came from senior Craig Vannus (Lambeth, Ont.) and freshman Ben Kirby (Burlington, Ont.).
Ryan Panas and Colin McKeen added the Golden Hawks two hits.
In Game Two, Laurier added one run in the first and one in the second to hold on for the 2-1 victory.
Laurier starter Jordan Petruska recorded the victory, throwing seven complete innings allowing one run on six hits with one strikeout. Brock southpaw Johnny Hutton (Ancaster, Ont.) suffered the loss allowing two runs on four hits over five innings.
Leading Brock was Graham who went 2-for-3. Kirby, Vannus, Ricky Ferri (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Wil Nicholson (Burlington, Ont.) all added one hit each.
Laurier was led by Daniel Murphy, Adam Shaver and Trevor Nyp all went 2-for-3.
Source: Brock Sports Info
Blues Baseball downs Marauders
The Varsity Blues baseball team capped off a 3-1 weekend with 11-3 and 7-3 victories over the McMaster Marauders on Sunday, September 30 in Hamilton, Ont.
Harrison Carmichael led the Blues in the first game of the day with four RBI. The Blues trailed 1-0 after the first inning but then exploded for seven runs in the top of the second to put the game away. Jamie Lekas had three hits and two runs, while Steven Hersch scored three times on two hits and a walk.
Ryan Donnelly pitched the complete game, striking out two in seven innings.
U of T continued to dominate in the second game, scoring six runs in the second inning. Andrew Mannone had two RBI in the win.
Andy Orfanakos earned the win on the mound, striking out six in six innings of work.
The Varsity Blues return to action this Friday, October 5 as they host the Waterloo Warriors at Dan Lang Field. First game is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Brock drops 4-1 decision to Waterloo
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University baseball team (19-8 overall, 13-4 OUA) dropped its second straight, falling to the Waterloo Warriors by the score of 4-1 Monday night at George Taylor Field.
Brock outhit the Warriors 12-7, but could not come up with a clutch hit when they needed stranding 16 total base runners.
Brock starter Paul McKenna (Oakville, Ont.) threw seven inings allowing two runs on four hits while striking out seven in the loss. Waterloo's Nolan Pettipiece picked up the victory, allowing one run on 12 hits. Adam Lentz picked up the save retiring the final two batters in the ninth.
Brock had four players with multiple-hit performances, led by senior Evan Baglieri (Chippawa, Ont.) who went 3-for-4 with a double. Senior Craig Vannus (Lambeth, Ont.) (2-for-3), Sophomore Ricky Ferri (St. Catharines, Ont.) (2-for-4) and junior Bill Sloat (Woodstock, Ont.) (2-for-5) all added two hits each.
Freshman Jordan Grant (Mississauga, Ont.) was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Rounding out the Brock offense were freshmen Nathan Smith (Brampton, Ont.) and Ben Kirby (Burlington, Ont.) who added one hit each.
Waterloo was led by Ben Tinklin and Kevin Martin who both went 2-for-4 in the victory.
Source: Brock Sports Info
In the OUA baseball season each weekend is bigger than the one before, and this was certainly the case going into this weekend’s action for the Gryphons. Guelph was facing the defending champs from the University of Toronto for two games on Saturday and going into London for two tough road games with the 12-3 Western Mustangs on Sunday.
The offence stepped up in the first inning of game one on Saturday. After a Anthony Interisano (Guelph, Ont.) double scored Peter Ricciardi (Pickering, Ont.) from third, Ryan Thompson (Caledon, Ont.) crushed a two run homer off of Toronto ace Marek Deska to give the Gryphs an early 3-1 lead. The Varsity Blues answered back with 3 off of starter Brendan Sorichetti (Whitby, Ont.) in the second to take a 4-3 lead. Steven Fleischer (Brampton, Ont.) knocked in Ricciardi in the third to cut the lead 5-4, but that was all Guelph could put up against Deska as Toronto held on for a 5-4 win.
Game two became even more important for Guelph after dropping game one, and they called on their ace Lucas Borges to get the job done on the mound. Borges squared off with veteran lefty Drew Taylor for Toronto and both pitchers were stellar. With the score 0-0 in the fifth, the Gryphs broke through with a two out rally. Kyle Westwater (Milton, Ont.) drove a triple into the left center field gap, and on the very next pitch, center fielder Kevin Winters (Newmarket, Ont.) cashed Westwater from thrid with a clutch single to right. Borges would not need more than that run as he retired the final seven batters in a row for the complete game 1-0 shutout.
Western was waiting for Guelph on Sunday having won six out of their previous seven games. Pitching was again the focus in game one as Gryphs righty Brook Coatsworth (Guelph, Ont.) took the mound against his former team. Coatsworth changed speeds all day and had Mustangs hitters off balance from the get go.
Guelph took the lead in the second as Interisano and Westwater both singled and Interisano was able to score from 3rd as Westwater was caught up in a rundown. Coatsworth was helped by a terrific throw from right fielder Marc Mongillo in the fourth to record an out at home and keep the score 1-0.
Western tied it up in the bottom of the fifth and that's how it stayed into the seventh. Guelph loaded the bases with one out and had a golden opportunity to take the lead, but Mustang's starter Christian Davies recorded a strikeout and a groundout to get out without any damage.
Western got two runners on in the bottom of the 7th and had the middle of their order coming up as Guelph turned to reliever Kevin Lagerquist (Brampton, Ont.) to get them out of the jam. As he did the week before against McMaster, Lagerquist came into a pressure situation and came through getting two ground balls to send the game to extra innings.
In the 8th, rookie second baseman Wade Sage was hit by a pitch, and after moving to second on a wild pitch was bunted over to third by shortstop Dean Mariani(Mississauga, Ont.). Ricciardi reached first on an error by the catcher and with runners on the corners, Guelph executed a double steal with Ricciardi stealing second and Sage scoring the go ahead run from third. With two outs Mongillo provided a huge insurance run with a line drive to center field. Lagerquist came back out for the 8th and retired the Mustangs in order, including a sliding catch from 3rd baseman Sean Molony that coach Matt Grififn said was "the finest defensive play he had seen in his 10 years as part of the OUA". The result was a hard fought 3-1 win for the Gryphs.
Game two saw Guelph send second year starter Jordan Abram (Barrie, Ont.)to the mound looking for his 3rd win of the season. After a Ricciardi single to start the game and another RBI from Interisano, Guelph had taken an early 1-0 lead. Abram was terrific through four innings striking out a season high five batters. Mongillo and Interisano each added another RBI and the Gryphs were up 4-0 going into the bottom of the 5th.
Things came unglued for Guelph as a combination of defensive miscues and timely Western hitting opened the door for a 6 run inning. Rookie reliever Stephen Fried came in for Abram in the 6th and got out of a jam to keep the score 7-5 Western going into the 7th. Sean Molony led off the inning by driving a double down the right field line, and that was followed up by Mongillo picking up his fourth hit of the day with a single to right.
Western turned to their closer, hard throwing Paul Lytwynec to face Interisano with the tying run on 1st base. With the two strikes on him, Interisano delivered the biggest hit of his incredible season. Justin turned on a letter high fast ball and belted a three run home run that cleared not only the outfield fence, but also the 15 foot high wooden fence that encloses the field. The tape measure home run was his 7th of the year and turned a 7-5 deficit into an 8-7 lead. The Gryphs added one more as veteran outfielder Andrew Lindley stole 2nd and 3rd base and scored as his hard slide knocked the ball into left field.
After Western worked a lead-off walk, it was time for another Rookie to come in and contribute as Guelph turned to Jeffrey Snelgrove to try and close the door. As he has in each of his three previous outings, Snelgrove was spectacualar retiring all three batters he faced and giving the Gryphs a dramatic 9-8 come from behind victory moving Guelph ahead of Western and into second place.
After this weekend of solid work, the Gryphons clinched their first playoff berth since 2004 with the win.
Griffin said after the game "this is a team in the truest sense of the word. We have had contributions from so many guys and the way that this group pulls for each other and the effort that's being put in makes it a special group to be around."
Guelph closes the regular season with four home games starting Wednesday at 7:30 pm against McMaster. The Gryphs look to keep the momentum going as they continue towards their goal of bringing Guelph its first OUA baseball championship.
Source: Guelph Athletics
Brock baseball clinches playoff berth with split against Laurier
WATERLOO, Ont. - The Brock University baseball team (19-7 overall, 13-3 OUA) clinched a playoff berth this afternoon on the road as they split a doubleheader against the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Badgers won Game One 1-0 and dropped Game Two by the score of 2-1.
In Game One, Brock junior righthander Justin Ayles (Brampton, Ont.) threw this third straight complete game. Over seven innings of work, Ayles allowed just two hits while striking out five. Laurier's Brett Van Pelt also went the distance giving up one run on four hits with three strikeouts.
Brock senior Cameron Graham (Sarnia, Ont.) led the top of the second off with a double. One batter later, junior Bill Sloat (Woodstock, Ont.) added a single to left field scoring Graham, which would prove to be the game-winning run. The two other Brock hits came from senior Craig Vannus (Lambeth, Ont.) and freshman Ben Kirby (Burlington, Ont.).
Ryan Panas and Colin McKeen added the Golden Hawks two hits.
In Game Two, Laurier added one run in the first and one in the second to hold on for the 2-1 victory.
Laurier starter Jordan Petruska recorded the victory, throwing seven complete innings allowing one run on six hits with one strikeout. Brock southpaw Johnny Hutton (Ancaster, Ont.) suffered the loss allowing two runs on four hits over five innings.
Leading Brock was Graham who went 2-for-3. Kirby, Vannus, Ricky Ferri (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Wil Nicholson (Burlington, Ont.) all added one hit each.
Laurier was led by Daniel Murphy, Adam Shaver and Trevor Nyp all went 2-for-3.
Source: Brock Sports Info
Blues Baseball downs Marauders
The Varsity Blues baseball team capped off a 3-1 weekend with 11-3 and 7-3 victories over the McMaster Marauders on Sunday, September 30 in Hamilton, Ont.
Harrison Carmichael led the Blues in the first game of the day with four RBI. The Blues trailed 1-0 after the first inning but then exploded for seven runs in the top of the second to put the game away. Jamie Lekas had three hits and two runs, while Steven Hersch scored three times on two hits and a walk.
Ryan Donnelly pitched the complete game, striking out two in seven innings.
U of T continued to dominate in the second game, scoring six runs in the second inning. Andrew Mannone had two RBI in the win.
Andy Orfanakos earned the win on the mound, striking out six in six innings of work.
The Varsity Blues return to action this Friday, October 5 as they host the Waterloo Warriors at Dan Lang Field. First game is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Brock drops 4-1 decision to Waterloo
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University baseball team (19-8 overall, 13-4 OUA) dropped its second straight, falling to the Waterloo Warriors by the score of 4-1 Monday night at George Taylor Field.
Brock outhit the Warriors 12-7, but could not come up with a clutch hit when they needed stranding 16 total base runners.
Brock starter Paul McKenna (Oakville, Ont.) threw seven inings allowing two runs on four hits while striking out seven in the loss. Waterloo's Nolan Pettipiece picked up the victory, allowing one run on 12 hits. Adam Lentz picked up the save retiring the final two batters in the ninth.
Brock had four players with multiple-hit performances, led by senior Evan Baglieri (Chippawa, Ont.) who went 3-for-4 with a double. Senior Craig Vannus (Lambeth, Ont.) (2-for-3), Sophomore Ricky Ferri (St. Catharines, Ont.) (2-for-4) and junior Bill Sloat (Woodstock, Ont.) (2-for-5) all added two hits each.
Freshman Jordan Grant (Mississauga, Ont.) was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Rounding out the Brock offense were freshmen Nathan Smith (Brampton, Ont.) and Ben Kirby (Burlington, Ont.) who added one hit each.
Waterloo was led by Ben Tinklin and Kevin Martin who both went 2-for-4 in the victory.
Source: Brock Sports Info
