MONTREAL --
Jared Kersh of South Salem, N.Y.,
hit a home run and cashed in four RBIs as McGill routed the Université de Montréal 14-1 to win the rubber match of their Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association semifinal series at Parc Ahuntsic, Sunday.
The defending national champion Redmen had to do it the hard way after losing Game 1 of the Northern Division series 9-7 at home in a Saturday doubleheader. But in Game 2, they rallied with four runs in the final inning to even the series with a 5-4 victory.
In Game 3, McGill scored three runs in the first inning, three in the second and pushed across eight more in the fourth before UdeM responded with their lone run just prior to the mercy rule being invoked. The visitors outhit Montreal by a lopsided 16-2 margin.
"We showed tremendous character down the stretch, when the games mattered the most," said
Casey Auerbach, a former all-star infielder with the team now serving as head coach and field manager. "We talked about winning in all kinds of ways and we did a good job of that in this series. We were trailing 9-1 in Game 1 and closed that gap to 9-7. Then we were down 4-1 late in Game 2 and scored four in the last inning to win that one. We used that momentum to get a good early jump in Game 3.... We believed collectively as a group that we could get it done."
Kersh, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound first baseman, went 3-for-4 at the plate and scored three runs. The 20-year-old economics junior stroked an RBI single in the first inning, then hammered a 2-0 pitch over the left-field wall for a three-run bomb to make the score 6-0, opening the floodgates to the team's juggernaut offence.
"He's a gamer that competes with the best of them, works his butt off," noted Auerbach. "Obviously, his three-run homer set the tone for us offensively today."
McGill starter
Thomas Mienkowsksi, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-hander from Toronto, was credited with a complete game victory. The 21-year-old economics junior tossed a two-hitter, gave up one run, walked three, hit three and strikeout three. He threw 61 pitches, 30 for strikes.
Joining Kersh in the multi-hit department was
Chester Dixon (2/3, R, RBI),
Emerson Dohm (2/3, 2 R, BB, 2 RBI),
Troy Shepherd (2/3, 3 R, BB), and
Michael O'Toole (2/4, R, 2 RBI).
UdeM starter
Shawn Beaulieu took the loss and lasted just 3.1 innings. One of five pitchers used by Montreal, he gave up nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits, walked one and struck out two
McGill, which improved to 27-8-3 overall and 2-1 in the post-season, now advances to the CCBA Northern Division championship, a best-fo-three affair against Carleton, which defeated Concordia in three games to win their semifinal series.Like McGill, the Ravens dropped their first playoff game, 3-2 to Concordia, then rebounded to win 11-5 and 7-0. Carleton finished just one game behind division-leading McGill (13-3) in the standings with a 12-4 record.
The Redmen took three of four meetings with Carleton, outscoring the Ravens 27-11. McGill lost the first confrontation 5-1, then won three straight, 11-1, 11-4 and 4-1. The divisional final opens Saturday with a doubleheader at Gary Carter Field, with start times tentatively scheduled for 12 noon and 3 p.m. If a third game is needed, it is slated to be played in the nation's capital on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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FINAL 2018 CANADIAN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL ASSOCIATION REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
