Going into the season, men’s baseball coach Dan Lang believed his team was primed to take a step forward. After finishing third in the OUA with a 10-8 record in 2006, and with top-ranked Brock (14-4 last season) facing a major roster overhaul, things looked promising – at least on paper.
“I don’t think Brock will be as good as in years past,” said Lang. “Their roster has a lot of young players this season, while our team is largely the same group that made it to the playoffs last year, only with more experience.” Despite losing all three games to the Badgers in 2006 (all close, lowscoring affairs), Lang is confident that his savvy, veteran-laden squad can leap-frog a relatively green’ Badgers roster in the standings.
With the current talent on the Varsity Blues, it’s tough to argue with his logic. Still in the fold are OUA allstars Jake Gallo, Travis Skelton and Mike Dahiroc. Gallo, 2006’s pitcher of the year, leads a staff which was among the best in the Ontario division last year, while outfielder Travis Skelton and second baseman Dahiroc form a uniform order for the Blues.
When asked about any expectations for 2007, team captain Nick Cunjak merely echoed the sentiments of his coach. Cunjak, the most senior member of the team and a masters student at OISE, believes that it’s not a question of if his team will claim top spot, but when: “I told the guys the goal is not for a perfect season. That’s difficult to do and can’t be our expectation. All we can do is work hard because talent alone may make you a good team, but it takes a lot of work to become great. We rank right up there with the best in the OUA and there’s no reason we shouldn’t contend for a title.”
The Blues won’t have to wait long to test their mettle against their rivals as they travel to Community Park this Saturday for a double dip with the Badgers. Brock comes in limping with a 1-2 record to start the season, but after all the build up coming into the meeting, there’s no way Toronto will take this Badgers team lightly, especially if it is only playing possum.
Toronto learned that lesson this past weekend, when they seemed clearly underwhelmed by their opponents from Laurier. The Golden Hawks took advantage of a Blues team that, as team captain Nick Cunjuk said, was just “not as hungry against lesser competition.”
In game one, Laurier took an early lead going up by three runs in the fourth inning against a listless Blues squad. The Hawks out-hit the Blues 8-5, and Toronto simply failed to execute, registering three errors that led directly to runs by the opposing team. Despite this, U of T was still in the game until the very end, tying the game with two runs in the seventh, before Laurier eventually broke through with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 win.
Shortstop Damien Eccelton led the way for the Golden Hawks and finished the game 2-4 with two RBIs, while pitcher Brad Binns went the final six innings without giving up an earned run. On the other side of the mound, pitcher Tyler Wilson had a rough outing for the Blues, allowing three runs to score in his four innings, while the vaunted Toronto offence was largely silent with the exception of first baseman Jake Lekas, who chimed in with two RBIs. The Blues would end the Saturday series 0-2 against Laurier, desperate to redeem themselves in Sunday’s tilt with Waterloo.
Anticipating the importance of momentum heading into their matchup with Brock this weekend, Toronto showed that they were more than just a paper tiger, and really took it to the Warriors. The Blues scored early and often on Sunday, and looked more like a team with great expectations in defeating their opponents 7-3. Their record now stands at a respectable 2-2 to begin the season, but it’s hardly the start that coach and players envisioned from such a talented group.
