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Voyageurs post a group playoff record that ranks among their best
2024-07-25

Fresh off their annual tournament trek south of the border, the Sudbury Voyageurs baseball contingent were primed for playoff action last weekend.

And while none of the three local teams emerged as PBLO (Premier Baseball League of Ontario) champions, the aggregate results surely rank among the best ever, dating back to the Voyageurs entry with this crew a few years back.

Sudbury 14U Voyageurs
Showing the way were the 14U Voyageurs, who might have been considered a surprise – just not in the minds of head coach Max Rydholm and his staff.

Though it is true that the team entered post-season play ranked fourth in the five-team grouping, the fact remains that a parity existed this summer in this bracket that is seldom seen in the youngest of the PBLO divisions.

With a regular season record of 6-12-1, the Sudbury lads could point to an across the board competitiveness that would see every team in this grouping drop at least seven games in May and June.

“It didn’t matter what day it was, any team could win,” said Rydholm. “That was the cool thing about the league this year.”

That remained true to form in the round robin playoffs as the Voyageurs finished first at 2-1-1, with a three-team logjam at 2-2-0 directly below them. “I expected the bats to be hot and the bats were even hotter than I expected,” stated Rydholm. “But the biggest thing for us was the defense.”

“We had some big plays in the outfield through the weekend which were huge and gave us a chance in a lot of big games. Defence was one of the key talking points for us all year. We really preached making the routine plays.”

“We tried to take every opportunity to make the easy outs to give our pitchers a chance,” summarized Rydholm.

The 14U Voyageurs hit the ground running, blasting the Ottawa Nepean Canadians 13-3 in game one as starter Liam Mahoney essentially went the distance (but for one out) and Brett Rienguette, Evan Ouimet and Chase Taylor drove in two runs apiece while Tyler Peters came around to score four times.

By Saturday afternoon, the northern squad sat at 1-1-1 following a 9-9 tie with the Ontario Yankees and a 9-2 loss versus the Midwestern Ontario Bearcats, but managed to come through in the clutch, edging the London Badgers 6-5 to secure top spot.

Sudbury jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings of play but needed some solid work in relief from Brett Rienguette (2IP - one hit - one run) to preserve the win for starter Evan Ouimet.

A tough loss in the rematch with the Bearcats in the gold medal affair did little to dampen the spirits of Rydholm.

“This season was full of growth, relationships being built and definitely more baseball understanding from the kids,” noted the coach who returned seven players from a 2023 roster that struggled to hit the win column at all. “And the hard work they put in during the off-season came through.”

Sudbury 16U Voyageurs
But for a special entry in the PBLO upper level divisions, the 16U Voyageurs may have matched the younger clubmates in making it to the finals. Backed by a combined shutout from pitchers Braiden Paul and Hudson Fletcher, Sudbury opened play with a 6-0 win over Ottawa-Nepean, with Max Arnold (2 hits; 2 RBIs) and Ryan Spencer (2 hits; 2 runs) leading the attack.

The locals remained undefeated the next morning following a 4-4 tie with the Kingston Jr Ponies as Landen Creasey registered three RBIs and Chris St Germain earned the win on the mound (5.1IP; 3 hits; 3 runs; 4 strikeouts).

Jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead, the 16U Voyageurs held on for a 7-6 win over the London Badgers with Gabriel Larocque plating three runs and Karsen Chartier and Brody Mabbott scoring twice each.

Looking to increase the exposure for the league State-side, the PBLO welcomed Thunderwolves Baseball in to compete from 15U on up on playoff weekend (the tournament was actually hosted just outside of Buffalo), with Sudbury losing out to the western New York entry in semi-final play.

Still, the locals managed to see Gabriel Larocque (catcher), Ethan Thompson (2B) and Ryan Spencer (1B) all named to the PBLO first all-star team, with pitcher Braiden Paul on the second team.

On that front, the 14U squad featured all-stars Brett Rienguette (both at SS and as DH – 1st team) and Owen Lamothe (2B – first team) while the 18U crew placed catcher Alex Frawley (1st team) and first baseman/pitcher Callum Baron (2nd team) in that elite collection of talent.

Sudbury 18U Voyageurs
Speaking of the Voyageurs elders (aka – 18U Voyageurs), the team overcame a tough opening game setback at the hands of the New York Thunderwolves, rebounding to finish 2-2-0, eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Sudbury trimmed the Midwestern Ontario Bearcats 6-5 in game two as 2.2 innings of near flawless work from Noah Leveillé (four strikeouts) safeguarded the win for starter Will Arsenault. Alex Frawley (HR – 2 runs – 3 RBIs) and Brady Soucy (HR – 3 RBIs) paced the Voyageurs at the plate.

Baron went the distance in game three, bearing down when needed in a 107 pitch effort as Sudbury bested the 17U Bearcats 5-2 but were sent packing by the Tecumseh Thunder (14-10) in a back and forth affair.

Frawley remained red-hot (3 hits; 2 runs; 2 RBIs), joined at the forefront of the offense by teammate Nate Parsons with three ribbies.

Sitting right at the .500 mark as regular season play wrapped up near the end of June, the 18U Voyageurs seemed to hit their stride when the dog days of summer set in. “I think for us the turnaround was when we started heading down south (to the States for July tournaments),” noted second baseman Félix Aubin.

“The guys really came together and were bonding over the love of the game,” added the 18 year-old senior at Ecole secondaire Hanmer. “That brought out the best in us. And I think we turned it up offensively a couple of notches. We wanted to show what the boys up north are capable of.”

On a personal level, Aubin will return to the team next summer quite confident with at least part of his game while continuing to work on other parts. “I think I had a really good defensive year,” he suggested. “It was a bit of a struggle at bat, so I focused on showing up consistently and being a good teammate, really bringing a lot of positivity to the squad.”

With a little fall ball still ahead, Aubin will now gear his efforts towards turning a geographic negative to a positive.

“I think for us up north, having that long winter to really get after it (the players assemble several times a week at The Baseball Academy indoor facility off Lorne Street) and then building in to the PBLO season really is a setting that helps us develop,” said Aubin.

“I have to work on having a consistent load at the plate so that I am able to turn on the baseball – and with my mental game, it’s really about being locked in every pitch, being ready to go.”

Putting together a post-season resume in 2025 that betters the group effort this year will not be easy.

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