KITCHENER, Ont. - One of the best seasons in program history came to an end on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 15) in Kitchener, with the Gryphons baseball team defeating the Waterloo Warriors 16-11 in the 2022 OUA bronze medal game. The Gryphons had 18 hits, led by
Braedon Walsh (4-6, 4 RBI),
Arthur Kowara (3-4, 2 RBI),
Owen Ellis (3-4, 2 RBI),
Ashton Patterson (2-5, 2 RBI) and
Jaylen Wood (3-4, 1 RBI). The Gryphons hit 3 home runs on the day, with
Braedon Walsh,
Arthur Kowara and
Sam Brown all going deep. Five different pitchers featured on the day for the Gryphs, led by second-year lefty,
Ryan Cooper (4 IP, 2 ER). The Gryphons led 12-2 in the 5th inning, and held off a late push by the Warriors to secure the 16-11 victory and third-place finish in the conference. "While it was not the end goal we wanted to accomplish this weekend, there is certainly a lot to be proud of," said Gryphons head coach,
Dean Mariani. "We built some very strong habits this season and had lots of individual and team success that we can take into next season."
The Gryphons OUA bronze medal finish comes on the heels of an outstanding regular season, in which the team posted an OUA-best 16-2 record in conference play. The Gryphons were agonizingly close to advancing to the OUA title game, but were on the wrong end of a 1-0 pitcher's duel on Friday (Oct. 14) versus the eventual OUA champion Queen's Gaels. Queen's would go on to defeat the Toronto Varsity Blues, 13-11, in the OUA gold medal game for their first conference title in Queen's baseball history.
