They may have been left longing, just a little, coming out of the PBLO (Premier Baseball League of Ontario) playoff weekend, but the Sudbury U14 Voyageurs would be hard-pressed to ask for a whole lot more out of the summer of 2022, as a whole.
Ultra competitive right out of the gate - the Voyageurs showed the way in the five team division with a regular season record of 19-5-2 - the locals dug themselves a bit of a hole in the league finale, falling just short in the end of a berth in the final.
A back and forth affair to open the round robin post-season format sees the Voyageurs drop a 6-5 decision to the Kingston Ponies in spite of yet another solid outing from starter Braiden Paul (4.1 innings picthed; five runs but only two earned; three hits; six strikeouts).
Ethan Thompson would lead the Sudbury attack, collecting three of their eight hits and driving home three, with Ryan Spencer recording two RBIs while Brody Mabbott scored twice.
There are games during a baseball season that teams would like to forget, almost from the opening pitch. Game two versus the London Badgers fit this mold to a "T". The Voyageurs trailed 10-0 as they came to bat in the bottom of the first inning, dropping to 0-2 thanks to an 11-3 loss to the tournament host.
The biggest bright spot likely came from relief pitcher Hudson Fletcher who surrendered only three hits and a pair of runs over the course of 4 2/3 innings of work.
Things went noticeably better on Saturday, starting with a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Nepean Canadians as A.J. Dubeau (4 IP; 4 runs) and Chris St Germain (zero runs on one hit in three innings - credited with the win) combined to hold the Ottawa crew at bay.
Dubeau also sparked the offense, blasting a two-run home run down the left field line (310 ft) as part of a three-RBI performance, with leadoff batter Justin Dandeneau crossing the plate twice.
An all-around team effort evened their record at 2-2 as the Voyageurs upended the Midwestern Ontario Bearcats 6-1. The pitching troika of Ryan Spencer (5 IP; 0 runs; 4 hits), Mathieu Lacasse (1 IP; 0 runs) and Cavan Clarke (1 IP; 1 run) silenced the Cats' bats nicely with the offense kicking in at a variety of levels.
At the top of the order, Justin Dandenau (3 hits; 3 runs) and Ethan Thompson (3 walks; 2 runs) were doing their thing while a little further down, Max Arnold (run + 2 RBIs) was taking full advantage of the ducks on the pond.
Facing Kingston in the semi-final, the locals spotted the Ponies a 4-0 lead, rallying with three runs in the top of the sixth inning but eventually eliminated thanks to a 4-3 loss.
Max Arnold struck out eight and was touched for four runs in just under five innings on the mound (only two of which were earned), with Mabbott, Thompson and Spencer accounting for the Sudbury runs.
Rounding out the Sudbury roster are Owen Perron, Colton Nowoselsky, Ethan Oliver and Ben Gervais, with both Nico Dalcourt and Gabriel Larocque away at a showcase event.
Coach Brian Savard summarized the summer quite nicely, noting that "regadless of the outcome on Sunday, the coaching staff was very pleased with the team's play and effort this season. They represented the north with sportsmanship, heart and hustle and played the game right".
