LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs were unable to mount a storybook comeback on Sunday at the 2009 CIBA National Championships, and the team was eliminated from the tournament following a 6-2 loss to the Concordia Stingers.

With the ‘Stangs leading 2-1, the Stingers exploded for five runs in the sixth inning to put the game away and end Western’s hopes of moving on to the title game.

Concordia opened the inning with a pair of walks and a single off Western starter Jeffrey Zimmer, who was then replaced on the mound by reliever Carlos Cabrero. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, Cabrero struggled, allowing a pair of bases-loaded walks to give the Stingers a 3-2 lead. The big blow in the inning, however, came two batters later when Jason Katz ripped a two-run double off Cabrero to score Marco Masciotra and Emilio Pampena to put Concordia ahead 6-2.

For the second straight day, the Mustang offense had to deal with former minor-league pitcher Julien Tucker. They scored a pair of runs off the right-hander this time, but it wasn’t enough. The ‘Stangs managed just four hits in the game overall.

Zimmer took the loss for Western, allowing four runs on four hits and five walks in 5.0 innings of work. Ian Campbell went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to lead Western offensively, while Robert Wakefield went 1-for-3 with a run. For his play on the weekend, Wakefield was named first baseman on the all-tournament team.

Western Mustangs vs. Concordia Stingers (6-2 Stingers)
                                                                  R    H    E
Stingers       0    1    0    0    0    5    0    6    6    0
Mustangs    0    0    0    2    0    0    0    2    4    1

Prior to their loss to Concordia, the Mustangs did get off to a good start on Sunday by beating St. Clair College, 5-2, in the first tie-breaker game.

Jordan Townshend got the win in that one -- his second of the tournament. The Mustang ace gave up two runs on six hits in a complete-game effort to keep Western’s hopes alive. The left-hander walked two and struck out nine in the contest.

Andrew Salmon broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the fifth with an RBI single off St. Clair starter Ryan Greco to score Andrew Thomson. Daniel Goldberg then knocked in Wakefield with an RBI single in the sixth to make it 3-1. The Mustangs then added two more runs in the seventh on an RBI single by Shawn Robinson and a Bruce Craine sacrifice fly.

Western Mustangs vs. St. Clair Saints (5-2 Mustangs)
                                                                  R    H    E
Mustangs    0    0    1    0    1    1    2    5    5    1
Saints          0    0    1    0    0    0    1    2    6    4