June 16, 2022

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

The Oklahoma Sooners have been arguably the hottest team in all of college baseball over the past eight weeks.

So it should come as no surprise that they punched their ticket to the College World Series with a 2-1 Super Regional series win over Virginia Tech last weekend. Now the focus turns to Texas A&M, who the Sooners will face to kickoff the festivities in Omaha on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Right-handed pitcher Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.) plies his trade out of the bullpen and has made 21 appearance, totalling 21 1/3 innings this season. If Abram and the Sooners can bring home college baseball’s top crown, it would be the third year in a row a Canadian has dog piled in Omaha.

Last season it was right-hander Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) and the Mississippi State Bulldogs who were the country’s best. And in 2019, it was former Ontario Blue Jays outfielder Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) who helped the Vanderbilt Commodores earn a shiny new ring, their second in program history.

The Sooners were last in Omaha in 2010 and haven’t won a national championship since 1994.

Other news and notes from around college baseball…

More awards were handed out this week.

Old Dominion infielder Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) and Canisius College infielder Max Grant (Fredericton, N.B.) were both named Second Team All-Americans by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Charlotte infielder David McCabe (Oshawa, Ont.) was selected a Third Team All-American by the NCBWA.

That wasn’t all for Coutney, Grant and McCabe however. Coutney was also named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Atlantic All-Region First Team, while Grant received the same honours for the Northeast Region. McCabe, meanwhile, brought home Atlantic All-Region Second Team honours.

Coutney led the Monarchs with a .376 batting average to go along with 27 home runs, 70 RBIs and a 1.281 OPS. Grant finished the season hitting .398 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs as the Griffs made it to the Coral Gables Regional. McCabe swatted 16 home runs and hit .386 for the 49ers.

Freshman Peyton Consigli (Fonthill, Ont.) added to his individual accolades by being named a Freshman All-American by the NCBWA. Consigli was a rock for the Griffs, pitching to a 3.15 ERA in 22 appearances. The All-American nod adds onto the MAAC Freshman and Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards he earned last month.

Golden Griffins teammate, right-handed pitcher Matt Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) was named to the Northeast All-Region Second Team thanks to an 8-2 record, a 3.81 ERA and 124 strikeouts over 104 innings pitched. Those punch out numbers make for the new Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference single-season record, which was formerly held by right-hander Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.).

But wait, there’s more. The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference announced their yearly All-Conference Teams.

All-KJCCC West Division Second Team:

Colby Community College infielder Cleary Simpson (Elnora, Alta.)

All-KJCCC West Division Honourable Mentions:

Garden City Community College outfielder Will Gardner (St. Albert, Alta.)

Cloud County Community College right-handed pitcher Jack Mount (Val Des Monts, Que.)

Colby Community College infielder John Vulcano (Cloverdale, BC)

Cloud County Community College catcher Ty Wevers (Lethbridge, Alta.)

All-KJCCC East Division Honourable Mentions:

Highland Community College outfielder Jake Bucovetsky (Toronto, Ont.)

Allen County Community College right hander Josh Fluet (White Rock, BC)