SARNIA – Day One is officially in the books from Errol Russell Park.
At the 2024 OCAA Men’s Baseball Championship in Sarnia, the Lambton Lions and Centennial Colts both took early leads, and they rode that momentum to victory when all was said and done.
In the first game of the tournament, the fourth-seeded Lions (12-6) took on the fifth-seeded Fanshawe Falcons (8-10). The two teams met back in early September in London, with the Lions sweeping the season-opening doubleheader at Labatt Memorial Park.
Kale Murray, the 2024 OCAA Men’s Baseball Rookie of the Year, got the start on the mound for the Lions. After stranding a Fanshawe runner in the top of the first inning, the Lions got off to a quick start at the plate. After Logan Buntrock and Murray both reached base safely, the Lions had runners at second and third with none out. Reid King singled to score both, giving Lambton an early 2-0 lead.
The hosts would add two more runs in the second on a double from Buntrock, and a fifth run in the fourth inning to take a 5-0 lead. Murray was in a rhythm on the mound, allowing just two hits through five innings for the Lions.
In the sixth, the Falcons broke through and got on the scoreboard. Charles Bowman started the inning with a single and Nolan Rice reached base shortly thereafter on a Lions’ fielding error. Both would come around to score on a double from Marcus Normandin. The Falcons would bring across a third run later in the sixth to cut the deficit down to just two, at 5-3.
After the Lions couldn’t add to their lead in the bottom half of the inning, Murray was back out on the mound for the Lions in the seventh, looking to go the distance for the sixth time this season. Murray led the OCAA in complete game in the regular season (5).
Murray induced three consecutive ground balls to shut the door on Fanshawe’s comeback efforts, sending the Lions into the next round with a 5-3 win.
After the game, Murray was named Player of the Game for the Lions after throwing a complete game on the mound and going 2-for-3 at the plate. Connor Smith was named the Player of the Game for Fanshawe after a 2-for-3 day at the dish.
Game Two saw the third-seeded Humber Hawks (13-5) taking on the sixth-seeded Centennial Colts (7-11). The Colts had the tiebreaker edge over George Brown to secure the sixth and final playoff spot, while the Hawks ended their regular season by bringing an end to St. Clair’s perfect season.
Humber and Centennial also met to start the regular season, with the Hawks sweeping the doubleheader.
On Thursday night, the Colts came out of the gates strong in a win-or-go-home game. Owen Nichols and Riley Briggs opened the game with back-to-back singles off Humber starter Owen Marshall, and they would later come around to score on an RBI single from Shoya Hase.
Centennial would add a third run in the third inning on a solo home run from Briggs to straight away center field. The Hawks had six hits off Centennial starter Mitchell Pattison through four innings, but they weren’t able to break through on the scoreboard.
In the fifth inning, the Hawks found their way onto the scoreboard. After a single and stolen base from Jack St. Louis, Charlie Towers connected on an RBI double to get Humber on the board. Towers would later come around to score on a Xavier Whittle RBI single to cut Centennial’s lead down to one.
That was as close as the Hawks would come to completing the comeback. The Hawks had a runner at third base with two outs in the seventh inning, but Centennial reliever Takehito Mori struck out Dylan White to end the game, giving the Colts the 3-2 win.
Towers, who went 3-for-4 with a double and two stolen bases, was named Player of the Game for Humber. Briggs was named Player of the Game for Centennial after going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, one of which came on his solo home run that was ultimately the winning run.