LONDON, Ont. – If the Western Mustangs are out to show that the OUA is the nation’s best conference, they made a big statement on Friday morning.
In their first round-robin game of the 15th annual Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA) National Championships, the Mustangs (1-0) came away with a 9-0 win over the St. Clair Saints (0-1) at Kinsmen Stadium in Oshawa, Ont.
The Western offense didn’t waste any time in the tournament opener, using a two-out rally to score four runs in the first inning off Saints starting pitcher Ashish Patel.
Kyle Harris (2-for-3, BB, 3 R), who singled to start the rally, came across on a wild pitch to open the scoring. Graeme Price (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI) then doubled home Robert Wakefield (2-for-5, R) before scoring on an Ian Campbell (1-for-1, 3 BB, 2 R, RBI) RBI single. Daniel Goldberg (3-for-4, 2 RBI) then made it 4-0 with a run-scoring single of his own.
The Mustangs also plated two runs in the third inning and another three in the fourth to round out the scoring. They managed 14 hits overall.
Mustang ace Jordan Townshend cruised through five innings on the mound for Western, allowing just two hits while striking out six before exiting with a 9-0 lead after five. He earned player of the game honours for his effort. Since the left-hander threw just 55 pitches in the outing, he’ll be ready to go again on Sunday should Western advance to the tournament final.
Patel took the loss for the Saints, who came into Friday’s game with a 17-1 record in CIBA’s Ontario Conference this year. The St. Clair starter gave up six runs on eight hits in three innings of work.
The Mustangs take the field next on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 10:00 a.m. for a game against the Concordia Stingers, CIBA’s Northern Conference champions. Western will then close out the round-robin portion of the tournament at 1:00 p.m. with a game against the Cape Breton Capers (Atlantic champion). Both those games will be played at Kirky Field.
Following round-robin play, the top four teams will advance to the semi-finals on Sunday.
Friday's scores ...
Western 9
St. Clair College 0
Ottawa 8
Concordia 1
Updated Standings thus far …
Pool A
Western (1-0)
Ottawa (1-0)
Durham (0-0)
Pool B
St. Clair (0-1)
Concordia (0-1)
Cape Breton (0-0)
