The Saints are back on top

By : Michael Hugall

 

The St. Clair Saints men’s baseball team completed their season with the Ontario University Athletics championship Sunday at Lacasse Park.

The men capped off an astounding season going 33-2 overall record. Leading to their second consecutive dual conference championship. Lead by head coach Dave Cooper and assistant coaches Bernie Labute and Rob Murphy, the Saints won back-to-back games over the Brock Badgers in the final day of the playoffs.

“It’s outstanding not only for this team but for our athletics program,” said athletics coordinator Ted Beale. “We are fortunate enough to play against some of the best teams in the province that represent the OUA… I have nothing but positives to say about this team.”
Second basemen Ryan Kerstens and catcher Eric Cunningham paved the way for the team’s success by producing a total of 47 hits in 20 games played, both batting above .500 on the season. Kerstens who batted leadoff most of the season for the Saints, was tied for the team lead in runs batted in with 16. Cunningham, who took over for injured catcher Jeff Watkin, led the Saints with a .593 batting average and 34 total bases on the season.

“Kerstens has been our leader all year long,” said Labute. “He’s a guy that plays strong up the middle, hits to all sides of the field and is a player for our younger talent to emulate.”

The tournament ran from Oct. 24 – 26 where St. Clair would face off against teams from all across the province. The Saints began the run to the championship with an 11-3 win over the Waterloo Warriors of the OUA. From there the Saints would be forced to regroup the Durham Lords in the semi-finals have to face the team they would eventually meet in the finals The Brock Badgers.

“We were excited,” said first year player Casey Boutette. “The guys who have been there before were calm and it kind of brought the team to the same level. We knew we wanted gold.”
The saints would be forced to re-group and play Durham College in the semi-finals. The game would be called in the sixth inning due to an 11 mercy rule as St. Clair topped the Lourdes 11-0.

The Saints went into the finals needing to win two games in order to re-claim their crown. They would go on to win the first game 3-2 after controlling the Badger’s bats in the late innings. Later on in the day, the Saints would complete the unlikely beating the Badgers 7-5 in the last game of the season.

With many players returning next year the Saints and their coaching staff already have the goal of obtaining a third straight championship.

“The OUA is an incredible talent, however the talent in the OCAA is being groomed and it’s affecting the overall quality of baseball in Ontario,” said Labute. “We are a very good team, and with that said the surrounding schools are going to have to raise the level of competition to compete with us.”