BSB | Voyageurs Get Weekend Split on the Road
The Laurentian Voyageurs Men's Baseball Team took to the road this past weekend with stops in North Bay and Ottawa to face the Canadore Panthers and Ottawa Gee-Gees, respectively.
Their first stop in North Bay saw the Vees face off against the Canadore Panthers in a double header on Saturday. Game 1 saw William Arsenault get the start as the Voyageurs looked to improve on a 1-3 record the weekend prior. It didn't take long for the Voyageurs to get going as a 7 run first inning before they even hit the field gave them a fantastic foundation to work with. From there a combination of offensive firepower and strong pitching saw the Voyageurs win Game 1, 15-3.
Game 2 of the day was more of the same as the Voyageurs put up two runs in the first, two in the second and seven in the third to jump out to a commanding 11-0 lead. The Vees were led by a 4 RBI performance from Noah Casault and a complete game on the mound from Nich Verbeek, leading to another blowout win 13-2 to get the weekend off to the perfect start.
Day 2 of the weekend saw the Vees travel to the nation's capital as they faced off against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. As Laurentian tried to build on a strong day on Saturday, their spirits were dampened early on as 6 runs from the Gee-Gees in the first two innings put the game out of reach before Laurentian could really get going. In the end, Ottawa would put up a seventh run, shutting out the Voyageurs and winning 7-0.
Game 2, on the other hand, was much different. Ryan Lacasse was given the assignment to start on the mound and with the aid of some fantastic defense behind him, the game remained scoreless going into the bottom of the fourth. After the Gee-Gees managed to get a run in both the fourth and fifth innings, the Voyageurs had just three outs to try and comeback. As Ethan Berube stepped to the plate with a couple of runners on, he managed to reach on an error, allowing two runs to come in, and tie the game up at 2-2. However, it wasn't meant to be as in the bottom of the sixth, Ottawa managed to walk it off winning 3-2.
The Voyageurs all in all go 2-2 on the weekend, coming away with lots of positives to bring home with them as they gear up to host the Carleton Ravens in a double header Saturday at Terry Fox Field. After that, they will head to the OUA Championship Regionals the weekend of October 6-7 in Brampton.
- Andrew Lemieux