GUELPH, Ont. - The McMaster baseball team closed out the 2022 season in Guelph this past weekend at the OUA West Regional Qualifier. The Marauders were joined by the Badgers and Gryphons, two teams they faced during the regular season.

Game 1 vs Brock Badgers
The maroon and grey opened play at the qualifier against the Brock Badgers on Friday morning. Brock was up by one heading into the third inning but Nicolas Velocci (Newmarket, Ont.) got on base to bring in a run for McMaster to tie the game. The Badgers had a huge performance in the top of the fourth to go up by four but the Marauders responded, recording four runs of their own to tie the game at five. Brock continued to score in the sixth with four runs but Anthony Polowick (London, Ont.) brought in a run in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly ball to edge McMaster closer. Despite the back-and-forth contest, the Marauders fell to the Badgers 10-7.

Game 2 vs Guelph Gryphons
McMaster was back in action shortly after Game 1 ended for the second match-up of the day, this time against the host Guelph Gryphons. The Gryphons came out of the gates strong in their first game of the day, going up by six after just two innings. The Marauders scored in the top of the third but wouldn't get any closer with Guelph taking the game by a decisive 11-1 final after just five innings. Guelph also won their game against Brock later in the day by a 16-3 scoreline to secure a bye to the OUA Regional Final on Saturday while the Marauders and Badgers would battle it out one final time for the other spot in the finals.

Game 3 vs Brock Badgers - Regional Semi-Final
The Marauders and Badgers faced off in an OUA West Regional Semi-Final on Saturday morning for the second time in just 24 hours. McMaster brought in the first run of the day in the top of the first to take an early 1-0 lead but Brock tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Ethan Seymour (Nobleton, Ont.) had a solo home run in the top of the third to lead the Badgers again. Seymour added a fifth inning RBI to extend the McMaster lead to two but Brock evened the score at 3-3 in the sixth. The Marauders maintained an 8-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning but from there, it was all Brock who mounted the comeback to take the game 10-8.

Guelph beat Brock handedly in the final (14-2) to secure a spot at the OUA Championship. The Waterloo Warriors, Toronto Varsity Blues and Queen's Gaels will join the Gryphons at the Final Four in Kitchener next weekend.

Despite the weekend's outcome, the Marauders showed that they are a competitive team in the OUA and that McMaster fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming years. 
 

The worst part of the season being over is saying our goodbyes to our graduating seniors. We cannot thank these 4 men enough for all they have done for the program.

Thank you Kenny (@ksnoguchi), Colin (@ColinHeron4), Mark (@markz2120) and Phil!

??Mike Marasco pic.twitter.com/mYQP6Js63f

— McMaster Baseball (@McMasterBasebal) October 8, 2022