In only their third year of existence, the Fanshawe Falcons captured a National Championship.
Last fall, the Falcons defeated their OCAA rival, the St. Clair Saints, 2-1 in the Gold Medal game of the inaugural National College Championships in Oshawa the weekend of Oct. 28-30.
“The kids played amazing all weekend long,” Fanshawe head coach Brian Harvey said after the tournament win. “They persevered, even when we were behind in the final championship game.”
The Falcons reached the final by shutting out the host Durham Lords, 5-0, on the strength of a complete game pitching performance by Kyle Zimmer, who was named the tournament’s All-star left-handed pitcher.
St. Clair entered the national tournament on the heels of their fourth consecutive OCAA championship where it had defeated the Falcons in the Gold Medal game.
“I’m not sure it’s a rivalry, but we have always told our players, if you want to win a championship, you know it’s going to have to go through St. Clair,” said Harvey.
In the Gold Medal game, the Falcons relied on great defense and strong pitching to hold the Saints to their lowest run total of the season. St. Clair took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning on a wild pitch, but Fanshawe came back in the top of the third with a pair of runs on four hits to take a lead that they would hold to the end.
The Falcons used three pitchers, Bryan Hames, Tyler Rymal and Robert Doyle, to shut down the Saints’ offence over the next five innings on just four hits.
Fanshawe’s Brian Hames was named tournament MVP.
www.fanshawec.ca/athletics
Submitted By Dan Haugh
