AJAX, ONT -- The McGill baseball team cruised to an early five-run lead, only to see it dissipate as McMaster mounted a furious comeback with nine unanswered runs en route to a stunning 9-5 victory, on Day 2 of  the Canadian National Invitational Baseball Tournament, Saturday, at the Ajax Sportsplex.

It was the first win in three games for the Marauders, while McGill suffered their first setback. Combined with other results at the six-team tourney for national bragging rights, Guelph (3-0) advances to the semifinal round along with second-seeded Laurier (3-0), No.3 McGill (2-1) and fourth-place McMaster (1-2). Both Acadia and Concordia were eliminated with identical 0-3 records.

Sunday's semifinals pit McMaster against Guelph at 10 am, followed by a McGill-Laurier matchup at 10:30 a.m. The winners advance to the championship game at 3 p.m.

The McGill-McMaster matchup had all the makings of a blow-out for the Quebec-based squad, which had a 9-7 edge in hits. They scored a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, added two more in the second and another in the third to take what appeared to be a stranglehold 5-0 lead.

But then the wheels came off as McMaster rallied with three runs in the bottom of the third inning and added six more in the seventh.

Infielder Anthony Polowick and left-fielder Mark Zanette paced the Marauders offence. Polowick registered a 2-for-3 effort at the plate with one run scored, while Zanette was 1-for-2 with three RBIs, a double and scored once.

Three McGill players had multi-hit performances, with second baseman Dominic DeFelice and shortstop Pierre-Olivier Avoine both going 2-for-4 and centrefielder Charles Winans posting a 2-for-3 effort with a pair of doubles. All three also scored one run apiece. DeFelice had a pair of RBIs, while Avoine had one.

Teammate Vincent Rizzolo, who started in left-field, hit a solo home run in a losing cause, his second round-tripper of the season.

Starter Ethan Hammond tossed a complete-game victory for McMaster. He threw 98 pitches and surrendered five runs on nine hits over seven innings, striking out four, hitting two batters and walking none.

Bobby Finnie started the game for McGill. He went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, striking out one and walking one. Reliever Zach Salsburg-Frank took the loss. He allowed five runs (four earned) on one hit, a pair of walks and a hit batsman..

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