The University of Toronto Varsity Blues baseball team enters this weekend's (Oct. 13-15) OUA championship riding a wave of momentum. The single-elimination tournament is hosted by Ryerson University at the Ajax Sportsplex.
 
U of T enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed after finishing the season tied for third in the OUA with a 9-7 record. They will challenge the No. 5 Guelph Gryphons, who finished 8-8 on the season, in a quarter-final contest this Friday, October 13 at 3 p.m.
 
The Varsity Blues have won six of their last nine games heading into the OUA championship, including wins over the aforementioned Gryphons, the host Ryerson Rams and the No. 2 seeded Laurier Golden Hawks.
 
The bats have been on-fire for Toronto over this nine game run to the provincial tournament, having outscored their opponents 59-44. The offence has been led by fifth-year veterans Tanner Young-Schultz and Bradley Bedford. A two-time OUA all-star, Young-Schultz has once again proven to be a threat at the plate leading the OUA in triples (3) and home runs (2), while ranking second in RBI (16) and total bases (31).
 
Meanwhile, Bedford, who is also a two-time OUA all-star, reached double-digit RBI for the fourth consecutive season, finishing third in the OUA with 14, while also ranking first in doubles (5) and fourth in runs (16).
 
Defensively, the Blues have a true ace in sixth-year pitcher Graham Tebbit. The Master's of Exercise Science major led the OUA in wins (5) and ERA (0.55), and ranked second in total strikeouts (43) and strikeouts per game (11.73). Tebbit will be heavily relied upon, with sophoomore Mateos Kekatos and rookie pitcher Dean Christidis also sure to see some time on the mound.
 
If the Blue and White win their quarter-final contest versus the Gryphons, they will advance to the second semifinal game on Saturday, October 14, scheduled for 3 p.m. 
 
The OUA championship finals will follow on Sunday, October 15 with bronze-medal action at 11 a.m., followed by the gold-medal game at 3 p.m.
 
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