Second-year outfielder Hudson Lockwood credited the team’s sweep over Durham to the Hawks record-breaking pitching staff.
“We weren’t hitting the ball great, but our pitchers saved us with only letting up three runs in the two games,” Lockwood said. “That was huge.”
“It really helps me do my job when we have the strikeout king [Brandon] Deans on our team,” he laughed.
The Hawks are on a tear with a 13-1 record heading into their last two series after beating Durham in a doubleheader sweep Oct. 6, winning 11 straight games. The Hawks won the first game 9-1 with pitchers Dalton Brownlee and Corey Vandegraff sharing seven innings. Deans led the charge in the second game of the doubleheader, pitching seven innings and winning 3-2.
Pitcher Brandon Deans has been the Hawks’ most influential player when he pitches. In last night’s win over Durham, Deans pitched a full seven innings with 16 strikeouts, setting the OCAA single-season record for strikeouts with 54.
The Mississauga native appreciates being back home this season and getting to play in front of loved ones again after playing at Oakland University for three seasons.
“Getting to spend quality time with my loved ones again is really special and having them at all my games means a lot since they weren’t able to for a while due to the pandemic,” Deans said.
“To be here, back home, breaking records and most importantly helping our team win and reach the end goal of a championship, it truly means a lot,” he said.
Deans suffered a fully torn UCL injury to his elbow that led to him having Tommy John surgery before coming to Humber. It made him question how good he’d be following the surgery.
“I always believed in myself and it made me want to work harder so when I had the Tommy John surgery, I knew I was determined to come back stronger and be the best player I can,” he said.
“To bounce back from a major injury like that, it really boosts my confidence and just shows that my hard work is paying off,” Deans said.
The 2019 OCAA All-Star and former Humber outfielder Liam Sutherland played against Deans in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) and knows his talent is for real.
“I’ve played against him this summer in the IBL a few times and what he is doing is pretty absurd and it is just pure dominance,” Sutherland said.
“Having a guy like that come to the league will be an eye opener to a lot of other players as other people will see what Deans is doing and use it as motivation to get better on the field and the league will generate more interest as a legitimate option for college baseball,” he said.
Sutherland used former St. Clair pitcher Kyle Brietner as an example of the kind of talent Deans has and how Brietner’s talent made him elevate his game and made him better.
Brietner won OCAA Pitcher of the Year award three times in a row and finished with a career record of 19-2 with a 1.62 ERA and 135 strikeouts.
Sutherland helped the Hawks win the CCAA national championship in 2018 and thinks this year’s team has the makings to win it again.
“Winning at any level requires good pitching, defence and timely hitting,” Sutherland said.
“When we won we had all three things clicking at the same time. It takes everyone on the squad to contribute to that,” he said.