Mustangs headed to national tournament Western is set for this weekend’s CIBA National Championships

By Todd Devlin Oct. 22, 2009

LONDON, Ont. – Finally, the Mustangs are getting the chance to compete at the next level.

For the first time since 2004, a representative from the OUA will participate in the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA) National Championships this year (Oct. 23-25 in Oshawa, Ont.).

And the Western Mustangs will be that representative.

They earned the spot thanks to a two-game sweep over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks last weekend to capture the 2009 OUA title.

Now, it’s on to the next step – competing at the national level for the first time in team history.

Western manager Mike Lumley says his squad is genuinely excited heading into the three-day event – “even more so than the OUA [championship].”

“The boys are excited to not only represent Western, but the entire OUA to show that this truly is the best conference in Canada,” Lumley said.

It’s certainly a long time coming. The CIBA and OUA have operated separately over the past five years, so the OUA champion has not had the opportunity to send a team since the 2004 season.

As it turns out, that’s when the Mustangs started enjoying their current level of success. The team won three league titles in a row from 2005-07 before winning their fourth in five years this season. But this will be the first time they’ve competed at the CIBA tournament.

“I think it’s long overdue for the OUA and for us here at Western to step up to the next level,” said Mustang second baseman Bruce Craine, a member of all four OUA championship teams. “I think every year that we won [from 2005-07], we definitely would have been able to compete at the national level, and I think with the team we have right now we can. So, we’re definitely looking forward to it.”

If recent history accounts for anything, Western looks to be in good shape heading into the national tournament. Including four victories in the postseason, the Mustangs have won 13 of their last 14 games after starting the 2009 season with a 4-4 record. During that span, they outscored their opponents 84-24.

“We were definitely the hottest team in the OUA going into the playoffs,” said starting pitcher Andrew Bergman, who finished the year with a 6-1 record and a 1.73 ERA (10 ER in 52 IP).

With a clean sweep in the playoffs, the Mustangs may just be the hottest team in the country.

At any rate, their success this weekend will likely come down to their offense. Barring disaster, the Mustangs are expected to put up some of the best pitching in the tournament. Bergman and staff ace Jordan Townshend will lead the way. The latter posted a league-best 1.00 ERA (6 ER in 54 IP) in seven starts this year, capping off the season with a dominant complete-game shutout to win Game 1 of the OUA championship series. The left-hander struck out a career-high 15 in that contest.

Offensively, Western will have to come up with timely hits if they want to advance far into the tournament. That’s an area where the team has been hot and cold this year. Even during a 6-0 win in Game 1 of the OUA Finals, the Mustangs went a combined 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position while stranding the bases loaded twice in the first seven innings.

They’ll have to be better than that this weekend.

Making up the six-team tournament will be the Mustangs (wild card), the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees (wild card), the St. Clair Saints ( champion), the (Northern champion), the Cape Breton Capers (Atlantic champion) and the host Durham Lords.

As this is Western’s first foray into the CIBA National Championships, Lumley isn’t sure what to expect. But one thing is for sure: he wants to represent the OUA well by winning a championship.

“If we do win, it will be a proud moment for the OUA,” said the longtime Mustang manager. “And it would allow all of us to have some ‘bragging rights’ -- at least for a year.”

For more information on the tournament, including a schedule and team info, visit: http://www.durhamlords.com/ciba/index.htm