LONDON, Ont. – Though the weather threw them a curve ball, the Western Mustangs managed to capture the OUA regular season pennant Tuesday night with a rain-shortened 2-0 win in Game 1 of a scheduled doubleheader over the Brock Badgers at Labatt Park.
With the Mustangs at the plate in the bottom of the fifth, the game was interrupted by heavy rain, which led to a 35-minute delay before the umpires officially called the game. Game 2 of the doubleheader was rescheduled for tomorrow, Oct. 7 at 7:00 pm at Labatt Park.
Western (12-5) got all the scoring it would need in the fourth inning when rookie third baseman Paul Lytwynec came through with a clutch two-out single with the bases loaded, driving in Rob Wakefield and Graeme Price to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
It was a huge hit for Lytwynec, who had struggled defensively in Western’s 3-0 loss to Toronto on Sunday.
“He bounced back really well today,” Western manager Mike Lumley said of Lytwynec, the team’s only rookie starter. “I’d never seen him put a lot of pressure on himself, but the last little while he has. He really wants to do well.”
The youngster picked a great time to come up with a big hit for the Mustangs, who gained home field advantage throughout the playoffs thanks to the win. The Badgers (8-9), meanwhile, needed to win one of their final two games against Western to make the playoffs. They’ll try again tomorrow night at Labatt Park. Should Brock not get a victory, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (9-9) would claim the last playoff spot via the tie-break rule.
Andrew Bergman picked up his fifth win of the season Tuesday night, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing three hits and a pair of walks. He also struck out three Badgers in the rain-shortened contest.
Bergman was aided by a diving catch in the top of the fifth. With runners on first and second and one out, Matt Marinelli drove a ball into the gap in right centre, but was robbed of extra bases by right-fielder Andrew Salmon, who made a terrific diving grab to save at least one run from scoring.
Matt Martinow picked up the loss for the Badgers, allowing a pair of runs on three hits and three walks over four innings.
The two teams will meet up again tomorrow night – weather permitting. A Brock win would set up a Western-Brock semi-final series to start Friday night, Oct. 9 at Labatt Park. A Western win, however, would set up a Western-Toronto matchup next weekend. First pitch Wednesday night is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
