It’s a swing and a miss for Cascades baseball

UFV’s men’s team can’t overcome their defensive shortcomings in CCBC playoffs

JOSIAH HANSEN

The UFV Cascades’ season ended unceremoniously with two consecutive losses in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) playoffs.

The UFV Cascades came into the playoffs as the seventh seed after finishing the regular season with a 13-19 record. The team was highly inconsistent on the defensive side of the ball which put them in deep holes in more than a few games this season. The offence propelled the team to second in the league in team batting average and third in on-base percentage and runs scored. However, the defence

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was second in the league in errors and third from the bottom in Earned Run Average (ERA) and Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched (WHIP). The bullpen didn’t have the depth they needed, as four of the team’s relief pitchers who pitched at least ten innings in the season had ERAs of 5.00+.

UFV’s first game in this doubleelimination playoff, which they dropped by a score of 8-1, was against the number two-seeded Okanagan College Coyotes. Coyotes pitcher Gavin Wuschke threw seven scoreless innings, and the team racked up four runs in the fourth inning on their way to victory. Cascades’ pitcher Blake Badger was chased off the mound after he gave up his season highs in hits and earned runs, closing out a season-low 4.0 innings in an uncharacteristic start. The offence couldn’t string enough hits together to cash in on their runners, stranding 11 of them in the game.

The Cascades headed into their second game in a win-or-go-home scenario. They had defeated their opponents, Edmonton Collegiate, in four straight games at the beginning of the season, and early on in the game, they seemed to be carrying on that momentum. A triple from CCBC Rookie of the Year, Jared Hall sparked the Cascades to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. They carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth before Edmonton exploded for a six-run inning. The Cascades couldn’t overcome this deficit as they lost the game 8-5 despite outhitting Edmonton 14-6.

The championship game was a thrilling one between the Victoria Golden Tide and the Calgary Dinos. The Dinos saw an early 7-1 lead slowly start to evaporate throughout the course of the game, but they were able to fend off the Tide’s comeback. With an 8-7 victory, Calgary secured their first championship in CCBC history.

Through the summer the Cascades will look to regroup, develop their young talent, and come back strong for the fall season beginning in September.