The University of Toronto Varsity Blues baseball team will be vying for their second banner in three years as they head to the 2019 OUA championship this weekend (October 11-13). 
 
The Blues enter the tournament as the second seed after amassing an 11-4 regular season record in 2019. The team led the league in batting average (.366), hits (174) and slugging percentage (.466). The Blues also own the lowest team ERA (1.86).
 
U of T opens the championship on Friday morning when they take on the Queen's Gaels at 8 a.m., at the Ajax Sportsplex. The Blues then head to their home diamond of Dan Lang Field to battle the York Lions on Friday at 1:30 p.m. Toronto wraps up round robin action versus the Carleton Ravens on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m., also at Dan Lang Field.
 
Wildcard, semfinal and medal games are scheduled for Sunday at Ajax Sportsplex.
 
Toronto has reached the OUA final for the past two seasons, squaring off against the Laurier Golden Hawks on both occasions. The Blues came out on top in 2017, while the Golden Hawks squeaked out an extra-innings win last season.
 
Veterans Michael Deluca and Gabriel Nakonechny have led the Blues offensively this season. Deluca, a third-year outfielder from Richmond Hill, Ont., led the team with a .457 batting average. The 2017 OUA rookie of the year racked up 21 hits and 13 RBI over 46 at bats in 12 games this season.
 
A four-time OUA all-star, Nakonechny held a .426 batting average and led the team with 23 hits and 15 RBI over 54 at bats in 15 games. Fellow veterans Graham Tebbit, who was named the OUA pitcher of the year in 2017, as well as 2018 OUA first team all-star Joe Woods, have also had excellent seasons at the plate. 
 
Surging onto the scene has been rookie Kristyan Puyol-Genossar, who amassed a .389 batting average, 21 hits and 11 RBI in 54 at bats in 14 games this season. Fellow rookie, William Yang, has also contributed in a big way this season.
 
Toronto's pitching corps is led by veterans Mateos Kekatos and Dean Christidis. The duo has combined for 46 strike outs and hold ERA's of 3.00 and 2.22, respectively. Sophomore pitcher Luca Lombardi has also had a breakout year, which included a complete game, seven inning no-hitter versus the York Lions. He finished the year with a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in 17 innings pitched, which led the OUA amongst all qualified pitchers. 
 
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