BSB | Three Teams in Contention After Day 1 of Regionals

On a wet and soggy Saturday in Sudbury, a quartet of teams battled to earn the right to host the OUA Baseball Championships.  The Ryerson Rams, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, the York Lions, and the hosts, Laurentian Voyageurs, each played a pair of games on the first day of the OUA Region D Championships. 

The Varsity Blues and the Voyageurs opened things up on Saturday morning.  The Varsity Blues found themselves up 3-0 after the top of the third inning before the Voyageurs struck for four in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-3 lead.  Toronto responded with five in the fourth to jump to an 8-4 lead and never looked back, walking away with a 12-4 win.

In the second game of the day, the Rams scored in every inning and, despite back-to-back 4-run innings by the Lions, were able to secure a 12-9 win.  The Rams were led by Antonio Salatino who finished the game 2-3 with a walk and three RBI.

In the third game, the Rams had a quick turnaround and battled the Varsity Blues.  After their back and forth affair the game prior, the Rams were running on fumes, falling to the Varsity Blues 16-1.  More impressive than their run total, the Varsity Blues scored their 16 runs on just six hits.

In the final game of the day, the Voyageurs went up 2-0 in the top of the first and were able to make that stand until the bottom of the fifth when the Lions pulled even.  After taking the lead in the bottom of the sixth, the Lions looked to close out the game in the top of the seventh but the Voyageurs had other plans.  After Andrew Weber and Kian Bukala each drew walks, Tyler Gysbers laced a double down the left field line to cash both of his teammates.  Ethan Murdy followed up that hit with a double of his own to cash Gysbers and give the Voyageurs a 5-3 lead; a lead the would close out in the bottom of the seventh to even their record on the day.

Heading into the second day of the Regionals, the Toronto Varsity Blues have clinched their spot in the finals while the 12pm game will serve as a semi-final of sorts as the winner between Ryerson and Laurentian will match up with the Varsity Blues.  Action on day 2 gets underway at Terry Fox at 9am with the Varsity Blues battling the York Lions.