OC Coyotes crowned CCBC champs
In their 10th year as a program, the Okanagan College Coyotes were crowned champions for the first time on the weekend, winning the CCBC national title in Kamloops.
The Coyotes, seeded third coming out of the round-robin portion, knocked off the No. 1-ranked University of Fraser Valley Cascades in Sunday’s final, rallying and then hanging on for a dramatic 10-9 victory.
The back-and-forth battle ended with the bases loaded for Fraser Valley, when Brody Vogel popped out to OC second basemen Erick Junnola to seal the win and set off a celebration for the Coyotes.
Wyatt Hummel was the winning pitcher, taking over in relief after Aiden Mordcai had started the championship game for OC.
After a scoreless opening inning, the Coyotes went up 1-0 in the second before the Cascades responded with four runs in the bottom of the third.
OC closed the gap in the top of the fourth courtesy of a two-run homer off the bat of catcher Sean Robbins to trail 4-3.
UFV, which went a perfect 5-0 in the round robin, made it 5-3 with a single run in the bottom of the fourth.
Then, the Coyotes broke out by scoring four runs in the top of the fifth, with Robbins and Jake Fischer each driving in a pair as OC took a 7-5 lead.
The Cascades answered back in the sixth, scoring twice to pull even, with Vogel’s double plating Riley Jepson for the tying run.
The teams exchanged runs in the seventh, staying deadlocked at 8-8.
In the eighth, the Coyotes forged ahead again with what stood up as the decisive runs.
Fischer’s two-run double scored Trevor Mlait and pinch-runner Alex Russell — subbing in for designated hitter Jared Frew, who was intentionally walked.
The suspense carried over to the ninth, when UFV’s Josh Beranbaum led off with a walk followed by consecutive singles from Collin Kellington and Jepson.
Kellington was thrown out at third base trying to advance, but Beranbaum came around to score, cutting the deficit to 10-9.
Dan Rogers then struck out for the second out of the inning, but Matt Legg was hit by a pitch to load the bases — with the tying run at third and the winning run at second.
A nail-biter to the end, Vogel became the final out and OC prevailed.
At the completion of the round robin, OC was in a three-way tie with the host Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack and the Vancouver Island University Mariners.
After the tiebreaking rules were applied, TRU emerged as the No. 2 seed, while OC and VIU had to play off for the No. 3 seed. OC’s Jesse Poniewozik threw a complete game, holding the Mariners to four runs in a 17-4 mercy-rule victory.
The Coyotes scored three times in the first, once in the second and then exploded for 10 runs in the third on their way to that rout. In the semifinal against TRU, Coyotes starter Chris Wyslobocki threw 5 1/3 innings, surrendering one run before turning the ball over to the bullpen, which held the Wolfpack to one more run in a 5-2 triumph.
At the plate, the Coyotes were again led by Robbins, who went 3-for-5. Brandon Graham also hit a home run for OC in the top of the ninth to provide insurance and send the Coyotes to championship game.
At the CCBC awards banquet, OC’s Trevor Brigden (senior, Toronto) won pitcher of the year.