OTTAWA -- Troy Shepherd of Boston, Mass., had three hits and three runs batted in as top-seeded McGill opened their bid for a fifth consecutive national title with a resounding 12-1 victory over Acadia at the Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association championship tournament in the nation's capital, Thursday.

McGill has now won nine consecutive games at the Canadian university "World Series", dating back to their last loss, a 3-1 decision to Saint Mary's on Oct. 28, 2016.

The Redmen, who had an 8-6 advantage in hits over Acadia, drew a whopping 11 walks and only issued one base on balls. McGill broke open a scoreless affair with four runs in the top of the third inning. They led 5-1 after four, then added four more in sixth and three in the seventh.

Shepherd, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound shortstop, went 3-for-3 with a double from the No.2 spot in the batting order. The 20-year-old arts sophomore also drew a pair of walks and scored two runs, to go along with a stolen base.

Teammate Sasha Lagarde was the only other McGill player to register a multi-hit performance. The native of Pierrefonds, Que.,  went 2-for-4, with a walk, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored.

Starting pitcher Zach Finkelstein, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound  right-hander from Joshua, N.H., struck out six with no walks and was selected as McGill's Game MVP. The arts freshman scattered four hits over four innings of work and gave up the lone run.

Four other McGill pitchers saw limited duty, with Rocky Hroch, Sam Greene, Andre Lagarde and Jack Pantalena each pitching no more than one inning.

The Axemen were led offensively by third baseman Jake MacKinnon, who went 3-for-3 with an RBI. A trio of other players had the remaining three hits.

Acadia deployed six pitchers in the game, including starter Adam Ferguson, who was saddled with the loss. He lasted only 2.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on two hits. He walked two, struck out one and was charged with three wild pitches.

McGill, 1-0 in the tourney and 30-9-3 overall, continues their preliminary-round schedule against Concordia (1-0) on Friday at 10 a.m. The Redmen swept all four meetings against the Stingers this year and have won 15 straight over their cross-town rivals, dating back to an 8-7 Concordia conquest in extra innings on Oct. 5, 2015.

In other first-round games on Thursday, the Stingers won their tourney opener 7-6 over UNB and Carleton edged Saint Mary's 3-2.

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CCBA WORLD SERIES SCOREBOARD