The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s baseball team capped off their perfect 16–0 season in style. The Varsity Blues beat the McMaster Marauders by a score of 6–2 in the finals, taking home the Jason Guidon Trophy, crowning themselves as the 2021 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) baseball champions for the first time in four years.
The Blues were hot out of the gate, scoring three runs in the first inning. McMaster started to gain momentum in the third, when they scored their only two runs of the game. However, this was not enough for McMaster, and our Varsity Blues knocked in some insurance runs in the sixth inning — off of an Owen Taylor base hit, to add insult to injury. Meanwhile, pitcher Kevin Angers dominated on the mound as the Blues crowned themselves the OUA champions.
In an interview with The Varsity discussing the Blues’ success, rookie Niko Kekatos wrote, “The biggest factor for us was we had really good chemistry from day one. We always had each other’s backs and we were fearless.”
In regard to the team’s chemistry during the playoff run, Kekatos added, “We also had a good mixture of [veterans] and young talent. The [veterans] played a huge factor by keeping us younger guys relaxed and focused during the playoff stretch.”
The Blues had many standouts on the team this season. Kekatos took home the award for most valuable hitter, pitcher Dean Christidis won the award for most valuable pitcher, and coach Michael Didier took home the honour of being named coach of the year. The Blues also had five players named to the 2021 OUA Baseball All Stars.
Kekatos not only reached the team’s goal of winning the OUA Championship but also one of his personal goals of being named most valuable hitter. “Winning the most valuable hitter was definitely a goal of mine,” he said “I wanted to contribute to the team’s success as much as possible and having that goal in mind kept me motivated to do more for the team.”
Through hard work, great coaching, and the mix of young talent and veterans on the Blues’ team — a team that was poised to take home the OUA Championship from day one — the Blues dominated OUA baseball this year. They have some of the best young talent in the league and are on track to do big things in the OUA for years to come.
