This weekend was one of the Warriors' biggest ever after clinching the OUA Far West region last weekend in Amherstburg. The Warriors' 3-1 weekend in Amherstburg represented a historic moment in the program's history, as the Warriors Baseball earned their first-ever trip to the OUA Final Four. Championship weekend was extra special for the Warriors as host school Wilfred Laurier held the tournament at shared home field, Jack Couch Park, providing the Black and Gold an opportunity to play in a familiar venue and their home city. Despite playing at their stomping grounds, the Warriors weren't able to complete the weekend as they had hoped. After dropping their first game to the Toronto Varsity Blues, they'd fall in the bronze medal game to the Guelph Gryphons, to be swept away on the weekend.
 
The Warriors opened the weekend bright and early on Friday with their first game at 9:15 AM, a semi-final game against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The Warriors sent ace starter (and shortstop) Evan Morrison (Sebringville/) to the mound for his sixth start of the season. Morrison finished his season with an ERA of 3.50 over 36 innings pitched, the most of any Warrior this year, or any of the previous four. In fact, Morrison's 22.2 innings were a team-high in 2021, as well.
 
Despite Morrison's dominance throughout the season, Toronto's powerful lineup got the best of EMo early on when a Varsity Blues home run scored three in the bottom of the first. But before Toronto could strike, the Warriors held the first lead of the game after batting in the top half of the inning. Getting their first two batters on base, Varun Kuo (Mississauga/) with a single and pitcher Evan Morrison (Sebringville/) with a walk, catcher Alex Seelman (Georgetown/) drove in the Warriors' first run of the weekend with a single.
 
With a 3-1 lead after the first, the Varsity Blues would continue to add on. In the third inning, they knocked three singles and grabbed another pair of runs. In the fourth, Toronto expanded their lead to five again with the home run, this one a solo shot. That fourth inning would be Morrison's last on the mound as he departed with the Warriors trailing 6-1. Waterloo would get one run back in the top of the fifth, capitalizing on a Varsity Blues error to score one run, but it did little to cut the Blues' lead and would be the Warriors' last of the day.
 
With Morrison out of the game, Waterloo turned to Carson Hepburn (Newmarket/), who tossed two hitless innings of relief, collecting three strikeouts in the process. Max Todd (Paris/) would follow Hepburn's outing with two innings of his own. He'd allow just two hits, but a home run that would give the Varsity Blues a 7-2 lead. 7-2 would be the final score, squandering the Warriors' hopes at a championship, and sending them to the bronze medal game against Guelph on Saturday.
 
Saturday's 10 AM start gave the Warriors an extra hour of sleep, before their match against the Guelph Gryphons, the OUA's most potent offence. Despite their dominance, a 14-2 record, the best in the OUA, the Warriors were one of just two teams (Waterloo and Queen's) who defeated the Gryphs in the regular season. Warriors starter Jake Roberts (Scarborough/) spun a gem against Guelph in September, and Waterloo handed him the ball on Saturday looking for more of the same.
 
Unfortunately, Roberts couldn't hold Guelph down twice. Guelph jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to back-to-back home runs. The Warriors went quietly in the bottom of the inning, but Roberts was able to silence the Gryphons in the second, allowing Waterloo's Nolan Misa (Richmond Hill/) to strike the Warriors' first blow with a two-run home run in the top of the second to bring the Warriors within one.
 
Guelph wouldn't withstand the Warriors' retaliation, scoring another pair in the top of the third on an error and a bases-loaded walk. Myles Robinson (Hamilton/) came on in relief to toss a clean top of the fourth, but the Warriors were unable to capitalize in the bottom of the inning. Myles returned for the fifth, but after Guelph mounded a rally against him. Robinson was lifted before he could record an out, letting Jake Ray take over. Ray was unable to stop the bleeding, as the Gryphons assembled an unending inning to score seven runs and increase their lead to 12-2.
 
Facing a mercy loss, the Warriors weren't quite done yet. Waterloo managed to put together their own seven-run inning. The inning opened with the entire Warriors lineup batting around before the Gryphons could record an out. Each Warriors batter singled, walked or got hit by a pitch, except Alex Seelman (Georgetown/) who chipped in with a double.
 
Guelph refused to ignore Waterloo's impressive display, scoring four more runs in the following inning off of Nick Levinksi before Jake Dean (Waterloo/) entered the game to finish the inning. The Gryphons' four-run inning would put them ahead by seven with 16 runs over the Warriors' nine. The Warriors would score another three runs, two in the sixth and one in the seventh, but were ultimately unable to match Guelph's explosive offence, as the Gryphons took bronze in 2022 OUA play.
 
The Warriors 2022 season may have come to a close this weekend, however, we would be remiss to move on without acknowledging the tremendous efforts that went into a wildly successful OUA season. The Warriors extend their gratitude to our coaching staff, our athletic therapy staff, our baseball operations staff, our entire roster, our athletic department, and our fans. Thank you all for your support and for contributing to an incredible season of Warriors Baseball.
 
In addition, a special thank-you to our six graduating seniors Stephen Whalen (Heidelberg/), Jordan Carthy, Varun Kuo (Mississauga/), Liam Kelly (Scarborough/), Nick Levinski (Calgary/), and Liam Sutherland (Stoney Creek/). All of these gentlemen have made an immeasurable impact on our program on-field and off. We are grateful to them for their tireless efforts and dedication to our program.
 
Finally, congratulations to the Queen's Gaels on their 2022 OUA Championship! A well-earned and deserved honour after a tremendous season!
 
We encourage you to follow along with the Warriors' offseason by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for Warriors Baseball content all off-season! In addition, relive our 2022 season by watching broadcasts of our 2022 games on YouTube!