(VERSION FRANÇAISE SUIT)
CÔTE ST. LUC, Que. — McGill came out swinging and never let up, routing Dalhousie 15–5 in a mercy-rule shortened elimination game Friday at the Canadian university invitational baseball championship at Gary Carter Field in Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park.
The Redbirds (1–1) erupted for 16 hits — including home runs from Xavier Felx and William Durnford — to keep their title hopes alive. Leading 15–5 after six innings, the game was called an inning early under tournament mercy rules. Teams remain in contention for the title until they have lost twice, then are eliminated from the tourney.
McGill overcame an early 3–0 deficit as Dalhousie (0–2) jumped ahead in the first off Redbirds ace William Greer, who struggled with command, walking four in two innings. The freshman right-hander from Point Edward, Ont., yielded five runs on five hits but still earned the win, striking out two. Reliever Agastya Kushari slammed the door, throwing four innings of one-hit shutout ball with two strikeouts and one walk to collect the save.
At the plate, McGill pounced on Tigers starter Kiwean Song (0–1), tagging him for seven runs on seven hits and two walks in just 1.1 innings. The Redbirds tied the game in the opening frame when Gabriel Reque-Cruz doubled and scored on Nathaniel Steffler's sacrifice fly, before Felx launched a two-run homer and Durnford followed with a solo shot to left to make it 3–3.
After Dalhousie regained a 5–3 edge in the second, McGill stormed back with a four-run inning punctuated by Felx's three-run blast, his first of the season. The right-fielder finished 4-for-5 with six runs batted in, while Durnford went 1-for-4 with a homer, walk and three RBIs. Reque-Cruz (3-for-4), Robert Glusker (2-for-4, three RBIs) and Alex Strapko (2-for-2, four runs scored) also turned in multi-hit efforts.
The Redbirds padded their lead with two runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth, highlighted by RBI singles from Steffler, Felx and Eli Brisman. McGill committed only one error, while Dalhousie finished with six hits and one error.
The Redbirds (1-1) will now confront Acadia (1-1) on Saturday morning in a 10 a.m. start at Gary Carter Field, with the losing team being eliminated from the championship round. A McGill win would pit the Redbirds in an afternoon semifinal against Carleton (2-1) at 2:30 p.m.
BOXSCORE
TOURNAMENT STANDINGS & STATS
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL:
514-983-7012
E-MAIL:
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
