Okanagan College wins CCWS over Thompson Rivers University
Date: May 20, 2025
The first game of the day saw the University of Calgary Dinos face off with the Vancouver Island University Mariners in an elimination game.
The Dinos came hot out of the gate, scoring two runs in the top of the 1st inning. Calgary’s starting pitcher, Jayden Wielders, would start strong throwing 6 scoreless innings before giving up 2 runs in the 7th and handing the ball over to the bullpen. The Dino’s offense would explode in the 6th inning, scoring 5 times and again in the 7th scoring 4 more times. The Dino’s bullpen did the rest as they would only allow 1 more run and the game would end with the Dino’s winning 12-3, eliminating the Mariners.
The second game of the day would have the #1 seed Okanagan College Coyotes battle the #4 seed Edmonton Collegiate Hawks. The Coyotes would strike first in the 2nd inning scoring two runs, adding another run in the 3rd inning. The Hawks would respond by scoring two runs in the top of the 4th but the Coyotes would get right back on the scoreboard scoring 2 more runs in the bottom of the of the inning to bring the score to 5-2 after 4 innings. The Hawks would again strike for 2 runs in the 6th but the Coyotes would have a big inning in the 7th, scoring 4 times. The Hawks would add one more run in the 8th inning but that is as close as they would come as the Coyotes would prevail 9-5. The Hawks would move into the loser bracket to face off against the PBA Dawgs to advance or go home. The Coyotes would move on to face the winner of TRU and UFV.
The third game of the day would pit the above-mentioned teams, the #3 seed Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack and the #2 seed, University of Fraser Valley Cascades. This game would start as a pitchers duel and the Wolfpacks Donovan Collier and the Cascades Josh Barenbaum. Both pitchers would throw up zero’s for their teams through the first 5 innings. In the top of the 6th, the Wolfpack final got to Barenbaum, scoring 3 times. The Cascades offence would continue to have trouble with Collier until the 7th when they broke through for a run. In the 8th inning, the Cascades offence would finally start to click as they would score 6 runs to take a 7-3 lead. The Cascades bullpen would shut down the Wolfpack offence, with the final score being 7-3 for the Cascades who will now face the OC Coyotes for a berth in the Finals.
The 4th game of the day was another elimination game between the PBA Dawgs and the EC Hawks, their 2nd time playing each other in the tournament. This would be a back and forth game as the Hawks would score 1 run in the first, with the Dawgs responding with a run in the 2nd. The Hawks would score again in the 3rd and the 5th to take a 3-1 lead. In the top of the 7th, PBA would score 3 runs to take their first lead of the game, but the Hawks responded, scoring 3 of their own in the bottom of the 8th inning. The Hawks would hold on and win by a 6-4 score, eliminating the Dawgs from the Championship. The Hawks would play the winner of the next elimination game between the Wolfpack and Dino’s.
The last game of the day would have the Dino’s face the Wolfpack. Dino’s pitcher Brady Fehlauer would have a strong showing on the mound, allowing only 1 hit and 1 run over 7 innings before handing the ball over to Alex Lanigan. With the score 1-1 going into the 5th inning, the Dino’s would add on scoring 3 times in the 5th inning and 2 more times in the 8th. The final score would be 6-1 Dino’s, eliminating the Wolfpack. The Dino’s will now play the Hawks in an Elimination game.