WATERLOO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks officially clinched a postseason birth despite seeing their eight-game winning streak come to an end Saturday, splitting a doubleheader with the Waterloo Warriors at Bechtel Park.

Laurier claimed the opener 4-3 before Waterloo earned a 10-8 victory in the second game.

The split secured a second-place finish in the OUA West Division for the Golden Hawks and a berth in both the OUA baseball championship and Canadian University National Championship.

Laurier 4 - Waterloo 3

The Golden Hawks rallied from an early deficit behind a strong outing from starter Gavin McLean.

After Waterloo opened the scoring on a wild pitch in the first inning, Laurier responded with two runs in the bottom half, including an RBI single from Jared Wellman. Griffen Duenkler added a run-scoring single in the third to help Laurier build a lead it would not surrender.

McLean improved to the win after allowing two runs on two hits over five innings while striking out five. Simon Coutts recorded the save.

Laurier collected nine hits, with Duenkler and Lucas Bateman leading the way with two apiece. Duenkler, Cameron Bendo and Wellman each drove in a run.

The victory extended Laurier's winning streak to eight games.

Waterloo 10 - Laurier 8

The Warriors answered in game two, overcoming a 13-hit attack from the Golden Hawks.

Laurier led 2-0 after the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Bateman and an RBI double from Duenkler, but Waterloo seized control with a five-run second inning.

The Golden Hawks battled back with a five-run fifth inning, highlighted by Nolan Goranson's three-run double, to pull back into the game. Waterloo, however, added key insurance runs down the stretch to preserve the win.

Goranson finished with three RBIs, while Bendo paced Laurier with three hits. Duenkler, John Banks and Wellman also recorded multi-hit games.

With the regular season complete, Laurier finishes second in the OUA West and advances to the OUA Baseball Championships under the conference's new playoff format.

The top two teams from the OUA East and West divisions, along with host Brock, will compete in a five-team double-elimination tournament October 9-11 at Welland Stadium in Welland, Ont.

The Golden Hawks have also secured a berth at the 2026 Canadian University National Championships, scheduled for October 22-26 in Ottawa, with Carleton serving as host.

Laurier heads into postseason play having won nine of its final 10 regular season games.