Baseball finishes double header on a positive note

John Bauer

The Silhouette

Mired in the throes of a seven game losing streak, McMaster's men's baseball team was looking for some help from the baseball gods to make the move back to respectability on the season. The help came this week from the OUA scheduler, in the form of two games against the Ryerson Rams, a team nursing their own five game winless drought going into Saturday's doubleheader.

Undaunted by neither the streak of futility hanging over their heads, nor the unfriendly confines of Bond Park in Don Mills, the Marauders went two for two against the Rams. The first game was an old-fashioned hit around for the Marauders, albeit one that almost slipped from their grasp. Despite putting up 13 hits to Ryerson's 5, the game turned into a nail-biter in the bottom of the seventh and final inning when the Rams sent two runs across the plate, to get to a score of 5-4. Pitcher Chris Novachis bent but did not break, getting the final three outs Mac needed to take the win. Novachis impressed all game long, striking out eight. The offense was led by Cole Lewis, who had himself a 3 for 4 game with an RBI, Travis Flint, who went 2 for 4, and Evan Landry, who went 3-3 with 2 RBIs and scored twice, cementing himself as one of Mac's most valuables players in his rookie year.

The late game of the doubleheader had a feel much different from the first. This time, Mac dominated on the scoreboard but not the hit count. The Marauders took the decision 7-4 on the strength of two explosive innings of opportunistic offense, making Ryerson pay dearly for their four errors.

The teams, well aware of how close their game was just hours earlier, started out tentatively, with very little in the way of offense in the first two innings. That all changed with one swing of the bat in the third. With two runners in scoring position and two out for the Marauders, Jake Chiaravalle drilled the 2-2 pitch to the outfield for the double and the 2-0 lead. Evan Landry would take four straight balls on the next four pitches to put runners on first and second. Next up to bat was Travis Gibson, who hit a blooper to left field after working to a 2-1 count. Chiaravalle broke for home the second the ball left the bat. He beat the throw for the 3-0 lead, allowing Landry and Gibson each to take an extra base. Lewis struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Rams were quiet in the fourth, but the bottom of the order would come up big for them in the fifth. Their bottom three batters loaded the bases on an error and two singles. McMaster’s starting pitcher Kyle Angelow would hit Ryerson’s lead-off batter Julio Ramirez to cut Mac's lead to 3-1, before a walk and a double by the Rams' Josh Lund put Ryerson ahead 4-3. McMaster's defense then deftly put away Ryerson's next two batters to end the inning.

If the Maroon and Grey were nervous after a three-up, three-down sixth, it sure didn't show in the seventh. Rob Birtles and Joe Asztalos worked their way to first and second with a single and a Ryerson error, respectively. Eric Telford would groundout to advance the runners. More sloppy defense on a hard hit ball by Travis Flint scored Birtles to tie the game. Ryerson chose to gamble with Chiaravalle coming up to bat, intentionally walking him. Evan Landry made them regret their decision, singling to score Asztalos and regain the lead, and chasing Ryerson pitcher Bryan Vardzel in the process. Gibson and Lewis would drive in two more Marauder runs for the 7-4 lead before the inning ended.

The Rams, deflated after letting the lead get away on errors closed the game with a whimper, with their last three batters flying out. Angelow would go the distance for Mac, fanning two.

McMaster now enters the final week of the season on a positive note. While the Ryerson games were a gift from the scheduler, Mac's remaining docket is not as kind to them, as they play five road games in a week. Oct. 11 takes them to Toronto for a single game. The Marauders close the season on Oct. 12 at Hastings Field in Guelph.