Okanagan College Coyotes capture Canadian college baseball championship

The top-ranked Okanagan College Coyotes capped their season in fine style during the long weekend.

At the 2022 Canadian College World Series championship in Lethbridge, Alta., Okanagan College went a perfect 4-0 to claim national honour, and the team’s second national championship.

“We are extremely proud of our student-athletes and what they have accomplished,” said Coyotes head coach Geoff White. “To win the regular season with a 25-5 record, go 4-0 through the post-season, caps off a special group of players.

“We have seven seniors that have worked extremely hard over to accomplish this goal, so to send them off with a championship and their degree is always special.”

Rounding out the eight-team, double-elimination tournament were:

• Edmonton Collegiate
• Prairie Baseball Academy (Lethbridge)
• Thompson Rivers University (Kamloops)
• University of Calgary
• University of Fraser Valley (Abbotsford)
• Vancouver Island University (Nanaimo)
• Victoria Collegiate

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During opening-day tournament action on May 19, Okanagan College posted a 10-0 win over No. 8 Victoria. Chris Wyslobocki, a senior and right-handed pitcher from Etobicoke, Ont., went seven shutout innings in the whitewash.

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In their next game, on May 21, the Coyotes cruised to a 7-1 win over No. 4-ranked Vancouver Island University. Jaydon Clayton threw a complete game for OC, surrendering just one run and five hits. He also had seven strikeouts.

In the third round, on May 22, Okanagan College edged the University of Fraser Valley 7-6, earning the Coyotes a berth in the final.

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In the back-and-forth match, the Coyotes scored first, with a run in the bottom of the first, but UFV bounced back, scoring two in the top half of the second. However, OC scored two in the bottom of the third for a 3-2 lead.

The lead changed hands three more times, with OC taking a four-run lead only to have the Cascades score three times to make it close. But the Coyotes held off their opponents for the 7-6 win.

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The Cascades were relegated to the loser bracket, where they suffered a tournament-ending 12-2 loss to the Prairie Baseball Academy. Notably, just one day earlier, UFV bounced PBA 16-2.

In the final on May 23, Okanagan College cruised to a 5-0 win over the Prairie Baseball Academy. Wyslobocki painted a masterpiece from the mound, throwing eight shutout innings and needing just 79 pitches.

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Offensively, the Coyotes scored one in the third, then went ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth when outfielder Nolan King of Regina blasted a two-run shot. OC added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to seal the win. Freshman Cory Lawson of Calgary closed out the ninth to end the game.

At the plate, having strong weekends were shortstop Brendan Luther of Etobicoke (.385 average, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 5 walks); infielder McCoy Pearce of Kamloops (.375 average, 5 RBIs) and outfielder Ryan Dousett of Calgary (.375 average).

Overall, Okanagan College finished with a record of 38-9.