BSB | Varsity Blues Top All Comers, Advance to OUA Championship
On day two of the OUA Region D Qualifiers, everything was on the line for three of the four teams. When all was said and done, the Toronto Varsity Blues stood above the rest, qualifying for the OUA Championships.
The Varsity Blues, already having booked their spot in the final, dispatched the York Lions 14-4, ending the Lions' weekend with a 0-3 record. It was a back and forth battle early that saw the teams tied at 1 after the first inning and tied at 4 after the third inning. From there it was all Varsity Blues as they plated 3 runs in the top of the fourth before tallying 7 in the top of the sixth to secure the 10 run victory. Catcher Joshua Gouin led the way for the Lions, going 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored. For the Varsity Blues, it was centre fielder, Michael DeLuca, and catcher, Ben Mossburg, leading the way, each collecting a pair of hits and a trio of RBI.
Game two saw the hometown Voyageurs battle the Ryerson Rams for a spot in the final. Things started of well for the Voyageurs as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the second inning, highlighted by a two run single by shortstop Tyler Gysbers. The Rams showed their resilience, however, and continued to battle back, tallying singles in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings before scoring a pair in the sixth to pull within one, heading to the final inning down 6-5. In the top of the seventh, Matteo Forgione laced a double to left field to bring around the tying run. Then with runners on second and third with two away, a Voyageurs throwing error at first base allowed two runs to score, giving the Rams an 8-6 cushion heading to the bottom of the seventh. After giving up a leadoff single, Frankie Giordano shut down the next three Voyageurs batters and punched their ticket to the final with an 8-6 victory.
In the finals, the Varsity Blues jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a fielder's choice and a wild pitch. They pushed that lead to three in the bottom of the fourth before the Rams broke through with a single in the fifth and a pair in the sixth. The Varsity Blues responded with singles in the bottom of each inning before getting runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the seventh. A balk would bring in the runner from third, giving the Varsity Blues a 6-3 lead heading to the eighth inning. In the eighth inning, the Varsity Blues had an offensive explosion, putting up seven runs in the frame to cruise to the 13-3 victory.
The Varsity Blues will now head to the OUA Championships next weekend where they will face the winners of the other three Regional Qualifiers.