For the second consecutive year, the George Brown Men's Baseball team will be playing in the OCAA Men's Baseball Championship. The event will be hosted by St. Clair College in Tecumseh, Ontario from Thursday October 20, 2022 through Saturday October 22, 2022, where the program will be seeking its first medal.
Last year, the Huskies lost to the Humber Hawks by a score of 13-8 in the four-team double knockout elimination round. It was an exciting game as both teams battled hard, with George Brown just falling short. Humber would go on to win silver. This year's host, St. Clair College, took home gold while Seneca College finished with bronze.
This season, the Huskies finished with a 9-9 (.500) record finishing sixth overall. In their 18 games played the Huskies scored 127 runs - with six coming from home runs - putting the Huskies tied for second with Humber and St. Clair. The team holds a batting average of .323, good for third overall in the league, an on base percentage of .430 for fourth overall and a slugging percentage of .437 also putting them in fourth in the OCAA.
Huskies 1st Year head coach Josh Appel reflecting on the year said, "This season has been a lot of fun despite the season going by quickly. Two things the team has done well has been to identify what their strengths are and what are the things we need to hold ourselves accountable to. And that's to be competitive enough to win and playing to those strengths."
George Brown will play the Fanshawe College Falcons (11-7) in their opening round, a team who the Huskies split with that last time these two-teams met. Fanshawe has medaled five out of the last eight years since baseball's return to the OCAA. The Falcons do hold a slight edge on the Huskies in pitching, with an ERA of 4.67 while the Huskies have an ERA of 5.71. But George Brown sits in second place across the OCAA in total strikeouts with 124, while Fanshawe has 93.
"As we look ahead to the playoffs, one of the things we've discussed as a team is we don't have to do things that are spectacular", commented Appel. "Even though from time to time the spectacular things will still happen because we have such a skilled group." This will mark head coach Josh Appel's first visit to the OCAA Championship, a feat not many coaches accomplish in their inaugural season.
George Brown will play their opening round matchup versus Fanshawe at 4pm on Thursday October 20, 2022. The winner of this game will move on to the semi-finals against St. Clair College on Friday. For all championship information, visit the 2022 OCAA MEN'S BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE.
Players to Watch
The second-year catcher has had a remarkable season with 21 runs batted in (RBI), a batting average of .418 and a slugging percentage of .727. He is a strong leader for the Huskies both on and off the field and is an impact player being a threat at the plate.
Huskies rookie and third baseman Lupton is another player who provides the club with leadership and has also emerged as an exciting player to watch. In his 56 plate appearances, Lupton has a .339 average, has scored 11 runs with 7 RBI and holds a slugging percentage of .429 along with 6 stolen bases.
Farrace has been the lifeblood of the Huskies, willing to play any position and is always the first one out of the dugout to encourage his teammates.Farrace appeared in 19 games for the Huskies, recording 11 hits, three doubles, and 12 runs scored. He was a George Brown Athlete of the Week for the period ending October 16th after recording two doubles and three RBI in the season finale must-win versus Seneca.
