Baseball finds groove

Laurier swept their doubleheader against Queen's over the weekend. (Photo by Andriana Vinnitchok)
Laurier swept their doubleheader against Queen’s over the weekend. (Photo by Andriana Vinnitchok)

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks used dominant pitching and stellar offensive prowess to capture two impressive victories in the double-header affair on Saturday against the Queen’s Gaels 7-0 and 8-1 respectively.

In the first contest, Jordan Petruska showed once again why he is one of the deadliest pitchers in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference by throwing a complete game shutout, while racking up a total of nine strikeouts and issuing no walks.

The Hawks backed the solid pitching performance with an outburst of offence starting in the first inning, where the Hawks began the game with four consecutive hits. The early first-inning attack gave the purple and gold a comfortable 4-0 lead, followed by an additional pair of runs in the 4th and one in the 5th to secure the 7-0 victory.

Notable offence was provided from Adam Shaver, who went 2-3 with a pair of RBIs, and Jeff Hunt who finished 1-3 with two RBIs. Once again, superb pitching and complete defense lead to an eventual Hawks victory.

“Our pitching has been doing the job for us and we didn’t have an error in either games against Queen’s, which always gives you a great shot to win,” said outfielder Adam Raithby on the team’s success against Queen’s.

The Gaels couldn’t regain form in the second match either, as starting Laurier’s pitcher Ian Fillion shut down the Gaels’ offence by throwing five innings of one-run baseball and allowing just three hits.

Laurier’s offence came courtesy of Daniel Murphy, Callum Murphy and Jeff Hunt, who combined for four hits, three runs scored and six RBIs.

The Hawks left burn marks on the base paths on Saturday, as they managed to steal four bases throughout the contest.

The back-to-back victories against the Gaels was not only helpful in moving the Hawks up in the standings, but it gives the Golden Hawks added confidence as they embark on the rest of the season, according to Raithby.

“Getting two wins against a much-improved Queen’s team is big for us as a team, and to establish ourselves in the standings and for us to get on a roll, after beating Ryerson earlier last week,” Raithby said. “We’re playing with more confidence as a team and are playing as a tighter unit recently.”

The Golden Hawks look to keep their winning streak alive against a tough Western Mustangs squad next Saturday at home at Bechtel Park in another double-header affair.

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