On Sunday May 5, the repeat OUA champion Varsity Blues baseball team fell to an OUA All-Star team which featured top players from Brock, Guelph, McMaster, Queen’s, Waterloo, Western, and Wilfred Laurier. The Blues lost the OUA Baseball All-Star Showcase at the Rogers Centre 7–1, unable to repeat last year’s 8–2 win.
Ryan Donnelly was the starting pitcher for the Blues, and pitched two innings. The leadoff batter and shortstop from Western, Shawn Robinson, led the game with a battle at the plate, fouling off a number of pitches with a full count before Donnelly walked him. However, Robinson was picked off after reaching first base for the first out of the game.
PHOTO COURTESY VARSITY BLUES
The next batter, Brock University’s Nathan Smith, was hit by a pitch, and would later come in to score for the All-Stars, giving them an instant lead over the Blues. Donnelly struggled through the rest of the inning, giving up a single to Evan Baglieri, and walking Ryan Panas, but got out unscathed after Smith’s run.
The second inning was much quicker for Donnelly and the Blues, with the first and third batters grounding out, and the second striking out. Andrew Greig came in to pitch the third inning.
“I treated my innings as preparation for my summer season,” Donnelly explained. “This was only the second time I threw to live batters this year, so I was just focusing on throwing strikes and keeping the ball down. I probably threw about 90 per cent fastballs just so I could get the feeling again of pitching with someone standing in the box.”
For the first three innings, the Blues’ bats were silent, with only one batter, Stuart Fraser, getting on base due to an error. However, in the fourth inning the Blues scored their first and only run. Centerfielder Jonathan Isaac hit a single to Panas at third, and advanced to second on Panas’s throwing error. He would later come in to score when Brent Page hit a single to right field.
However, the All-Stars quickly responded in the fifth inning. The Blues’ pitching struggled, as did their defense, and the All-Stars batted around the order to capitalize on the Blues’ mistakes, scoring five runs to put them ahead 6–1.
Rookie Blues pitcher Dylan Kelly began the inning by striking out the ninth batter, James Carter, but struggled after the first out. He walked three batters, all of whom scored, and two more All-Stars and scored because of errors. Peter Nash, a third-year music student, bailed Kelly out, getting the last two outs of the inning, and ending the All-Stars’ rally.
“We had more of our veteran pitching staff at the [all-star] game last year,” Donnelly explained. “This year we were missing some players, and only three innings were thrown by pitchers with a lot of innings thrown during the season. A lot of the younger guys this year did well to shut down the All-Stars, but in the end, walks hurt us pretty badly.”
Isaac noted that some of the Blues’ regular starters were missing from the pitching staff, including as Marek Deska, who pitched earlier on Sunday in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ home opener in the Intercounty Baseball League, and Andy Orfanakos, who could not attend the game.
After the fifth, the Blues’ bats were silent. U of T only put four runners on base through the remainder of the game, one due to a hit by pitch, and three walks.
In the seventh inning, Cam Graham was hit by a pitch, advanced on the base paths on a single by Andrew Hastings, and scored the All-Stars’ seventh run of the game on a Sean Molony sacrifice off of Yusuke Oshima.
The last out of the game came from a fly out to center field, hit by Donnelly, who was put in to pinch hit for Josh Jakymyc in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“Full credit goes to the All-Star pitching staff — they came out ready to play,” said Isaac. “Every inning, we were facing the ace of a different team, and they all have such different strengths and tendencies that you can’t get comfortable.”
The Blues finished the OUA as champions for the second consecutive season. Their record was 11–12, which put them into the playoffs as underdogs, but they ended up winning the championship game against Brock 4–0.
“This season was definitely filled with some ups and downs,” Isaac explained. “We started off slow and really didn’t find our groove until near the end of the season. Once we got into the playoffs, however, we were confident in our pitching and defense, as well as our ability to execute offensively.”
The OUA baseball season ended in the fall, so this was the first time that the Blues played a game together in months. “It was actually kind of nice to play together one last time before the summer. We do our winter training February to April, but our season doesn’t start until September, so this game gave us something to work towards,” Isaac added. “It was really great to be back on the field with everyone again, plus it’s always exciting to play at the Skydome.”
Although this year’s roster was similar to last year’s, the continuity is set to end case next season. “This was definitely a bit more of a sentimental game for our team this year. We have a number of graduating players who have been so dedicated to this program during their time here at U of T. Coach Sheppard did his best to sub them out in late innings and give them a chance to have their little ovation from the team,” Isaac said.
Isaac gave credit to some of his teammates who will not be returning to the team next year. “Josh Jakymyc has been with us for four years, [and he] just finished his undergrad. [He was] always a steady contributor all four years, and such a great teammate.
“Harrison Carmichael joined us a couple of years ago, coming from P.E.I. He’s played a huge role in our last two championships, always leading the team in average and holding it down defensively at third. He has residency next year [in medical school] and probably won’t be able to play.
“Brent Page … has been on the team for three years, co-captain this year. [He] always comes up with the clutch hit, [and he has] amazing leadership on and off the field.
“Lastly, Jamie Lekas. [He is] leaving the team after a long and illustrious career as a Varsity Blue [for six years]. [He is] our fearless leader and captain, always willing to do what is best for the team. In the past four years alone he has moved from centerfield to shortstop to second base, and [he has] batted anywhere between first and fifth in the batting order.”
“I started here seven years ago when I was 17 years-old, and it has been an incredible journey,” said Lekas. “Getting a pinch runner and coming out of the game in the sixth inning, and being greeted by my teammates and coaches was a special moment finishing my career as a Varsity Blue.”
Isaac added that “it was really nice to give these guys the opportunity to play their last game as a Varsity Blue at the dome as defending champions.”
