It came down to the last game of the regular season, but George Brown (9-9) clinched its second playoff birth in as many years by defeating the Seneca Sting (7-11) by a score of 12-3 on the road.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GM1: In Game 1 of Sunday's rescheduled doubleheader against the Seneca Sting, the pitchers took centre stage. Both starters pitched complete games, with the Sting's Caleb Battye just edging out the Huskies Finlay Butler in the pitching duel. Battye pitched seven innings and kept the Huskies off the scoresheet, allowing only one hit - a Hayden Wesseling single, while striking out four and walking four.
Butler was in the zone the entire game, striking out 10 batters of the 23 he faced and only walking two. It was in the bottom of the 4th inning however that the Sting got to Butler, with Tyler Hill leading off with a single, followed by an AJ Rowe homerun that put Seneca up 2-0. A 2-run RBI double in the bottom of the 6th inning off the bat of Dan Seguin would seal the deal in Game 1 for the Sting.
HOW IT HAPPENED | GM 2: Game 2 was a must-win for the Huskies, who needed to take one game of the doubleheader to clinch a playoff spot. The game seesawed back and forth the first three innings, with Seneca getting on the board first right out of the gates in the bottom of the 1st inning. The Sting scored their early two off a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
But George Brown countered right away with two of their own in the top of the 2nd, on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Noah MacDonald and a bases loaded walk to Jaret Lupton. The visitors then jumped into the lead in the following inning when Braeden Tremblay reached first base on error, scoring Brendan Nolet and giving the Huskies a 3-2 advantage.
Holding a one run lead, the Huskies then exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the 6th, running away with the victory. Catcher Daniel Farrace (2nd Year) contributed to the tally by hitting a 3-run RBI double to cash in Nolet, Lupton and Brady Wagenhoffer. Centre fielder Kyle Bandura then followed up with a big bat of his own for the Huskies with another 3-run RBI double, scoring MacDonald, Christopher Peters and Finlay Butler.
UP NEXT: The 12-3 win clinched the 6th and final playoff spot for George Brown, who will now travel to St. Clair College to compete in the OCAA Championship from October 20-22, 2022 in Tecumseh, ON. They will face Fanshawe College in their opening round matchup at 4pm on Thursday October 20, 2022. For all championship information, visit the 2022 OCAA Men's Baseball Championship Website.
