Not everyone named Harmon is a feared slugger.
Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew was with the Minnesota Twins, hitting 573 homers over his 22 seasons in the majors.
And Harmon Brar, of the University of Toronto Blues, is a feared slugger in southern Ontario.
Brar (Toronto, Ont.) hit .333 (4-for-12) with a homerun, six RBIs and five runs scored to propel Toronto to a 2-1 record. For his efforts Brar was named Slam! Canadian University Player of the Week. The majority of his offensive output came in a 9-5 win over the Western Mustangs in which Brar knocked in all of his runs for the weekend.
The senior also chipped in with a solid pitching effort on Sunday in which he allowed three runs over five innings to pick up his first win of the season over the Waterloo Warriors.
Former coaches say Brar at times has a very long swing which sometimes leads to all or nothing type results, but when he got hot he was very hot.
He's also described as "always laughing, someone who never gets down on others, never mopes when he's on the bench, and genuinely likes to seem others and the team do well."
Brock Badgers' 2004 OUA co-pitcher of the year Rylan Pranger (Guelph, Ont.) and McMaster Marauders' starter Mark Ferguson (Hamilton, Ont.) also received consideration. Pranger put up a solid seven-inning performance against Western. He allowed only one run (unearned) to pickup his first win of the season. Ferguson, a former UNC-Charlotte Œ49er, had a successful OUA debut throwing seven shutout innings in a win over Waterloo.
Toronto showed enough offensive prowess this weekend to get them over those opening week nerves which caused them to get off to an 0-5 start last year.
The CIBA season kicks off this upcoming week, opening up with a match between McGill and John Abbot in Montreal.
| 123 | 456 | 789 | R | H | E |
| McMaster Marauders | 001 | 020 | 200 | -- | 5 2 2 |
| Waterloo Warriors | 000 000 | 000 -- | 0 | 5 | 2 |
W-Mark Ferguson (1-0); L-Geoff Moroz (0-1)
Mac opened the 2005 season successfully with a win over Waterloo. Despite only getting two hits for the game, they were aided by the Warriors inability to hit the strike zone. Waterloo starter Geoff Moroz walked seven batters over eighth innings for the loss. Leading the way offensively for Mac was second year infielder Anthony Janicas who had a hit, walk and two runs scored.
| 123 | 456 | 789 | | R | H | E |
| Wilfrid Laurier Goldenhawks | 010 | 002 | 00X | -- | 3 | 8 3 |
| Guelph Gryphons | 431 | 200 12X | -- | 13 | 12 1 |
W-Andrew Pierce (1-0); L-John Jurgaitis (0-1)
Opening day for Guelph was a major success as they mounted an offensive attack which featured 13 runs on 12 hits and a whopping eight batters who were hit by pitches. Guelph starter Andrew Pierce was effective for Guelph while Laurier starter John Jurgaitis was chased after two erratic innings. Up 10-1 after the 4th Guelph put it into cruise control and Kevin Wallace pitched effectively in relief. Leading the way offensively were Kris Klassen, Marc Medeiros, and Matt Griffin who was 3-5 and also stole home. Laurier did manage to pick up eight hits and were lead by two from Scott Millie including a towering blast into the cavernous leftfield gap at Hastings Park.
| 123 | 456 | 789 | R | H | E |
| Toronto Varsity Blues | 000 | 100 | 010 | -- | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Western Mustangs | 030 001 00X | -- | 4 | 7 | 3 |
W-Jonathan Rubin (1-0); L-Jesse Fulton (0-1)
Western got off to a good start in defeating U of T 4-2. They rallied for three runs in the second inning and received solid pitching from the tandem of Jonathan Rubin and Ryan Butkowski. The two allowed just one run on three hits over nine innings. Mike Winter lead the way offensively for Western with a pair of hits for the Mustangs.
| 123 | 456 | 789 | R | H | E |
| Toronto Varsity Blues | 330 | 002 | 100 | -- | 9 | 12 | 3 |
| Waterloo Mustangs | 311 | 000 | 000 -- | 5 | 5 | 3 |
W-Daniel Colangelo (1-0); L-Wes Koch (0-1)
HR-Harmon Brar (1)
Player of the Week Harmon Brar's six RBIs were enough to single-handedly beat Waterloo on this day. Brar's huge day featured a homer, six RBIs and also two runs scored. Ryan Brown, Daniel Lee and Mike Dahiroc also chipped in with two hits a piece. Waterloo managed to get a pair of hits and an RBI from Daniel Hoffman. Toronto starter Daniel Colangelo picked up the win going five innings and allowing five runs (only two earned). Erindale Cardinal manager Greg Cranker would've been proud of 2004 OUA Second Team all-star Mark Taplin who relieved Colangelo with two scoreless innings.
| 123 | 456 789 | R | H | E |
| Toronto Varsity Blues | 001 | 340 | 000 | -- | 8 7 | 1 |
| Waterloo Warriors | | 100 | 210 | 100 -- | 5 9 | 2 |
W-Harmon Brar (1-0); L-Tyler Wilson (0-1).
The second game of the doubleheader was a similar story for both teams. Toronto pounced on Waterloo early and had done all their scoring by the fifth inning. Andrew Tulshi knocked in three runs for the Blues while Daniel Lee and Harmon Brar continued with their hot bats from Game 1. Brar also pitched five innings for the victory. Scott Van Dyk, Brennan Hagey and Scott Reynolds all had a pair of hits each for Waterloo
| 123 | 456 | 789 | R | H | E |
| McMaster Marauders | 001 | 340 | 000 | -- | 8 7 | 1 |
| Wilfrid Laurier Goldenhawks | 100 | 210 | 100 | -- | 5 9 | 2 |
W-Rob Thompson (1-0); L-Tom Sidorkewicz (0-1).
Laurier starter Tim Lawrence threw the game of his OUA career despite not picking up the win. The second year RHP pitched into the eighth and he was helped by rookie teammate Ryan Lawrence's (no relation) two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to lift Laurier to a 3-2 win. Lawrence hit a pop-up into right field and the ball was lost in the sun by the Mac fielder. Two runs then plated and Laurier went on to win. Laurier adopted a Lawrence of the Game plan for future outings.
Brock Badgers 4, Western Mustangs 2
W-Rylan Pranger (1-0); L-Brook Coatsworth (0-1).
S-Matt Tjart (1)
Brook Coatsworth took a no-hit bid into the sixth, but the Badgers pounced and didn‚t look back. Rylan Pranger threw seven strong innings coming off winning OUA pitcher of the year, an award he shared last year with Guelph's Andrew Pierce). Brock was lead offensively by rookie Mike Walker who was 2-4 with three RBI. Matt Tjart worked the eighth and ninth for the save.
-With files from John Jurgaitis.
