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Bantam Shamrocks try and recapture provincial magic

Locals competing in Baseball Ontario "AA" Championship playdowns this weekend
Baseball
The Sudbury Bantam Shamrocks are competing at the Baseball Ontario "AA" Championship playdowns in Oakville this weekend. (File)

Coach Trevor Goudreau and the Sudbury Bantam Shamrocks would love to do it one more time, just for good measure.

"It" would be the challenge that is capturing a provincial baseball championship, something the core of this team has accomplished on no less than three different occasions over the course of the past six years.

"It" is also a tougher assignment for the locals, this particular Labour Day weekend, with Goudreau and company competing at the Baseball Ontario "AA" Championship playdowns in Oakville, making the jump from the "A" ranks where they have enjoyed a great deal of success.

"As far as the season goes, a lot of it has been the same as the past, because most of the tournaments that we went to in the past have been either "AAA" or "AA", the same as this year," said Goudreau.

Coming off a year in which the Shamrocks, in their minor bantam campaign, steamrolled their opponents, at provincials, to the tune of a 70-14 score line, capped off with a 10-0 win, in the final, over the Guelph Royals, the locals took a little extra time to fully hit their stride in 2019.

"We started off the season a little bit rough, but are starting to peak at the right time," said Goudreau. "Our last tournament was really good, and I don't expect anything less this weekend."

"We worked out all winter long, but it's mostly the throwing and fielding, so we're a little bit behind when we get down south with our hitting. Our bats are in tough at the start."

The good news is that most keen observers of the sport will suggest that Sudbury's strengths play to post-season success. "Every year with our team, it's the same thing," said Goudreau. "Our pitching stands out, just the depth."

"When we go down there, most of the teams have five or six starting pitchers. We've got nine or ten guys who can pitch, and when you go deep into a tournament, that makes a difference."

Couple that with the ability to flash the leather all over the diamond and your basic fundamentals are in place for another shot at the banner. "We've been a really good defensive team for the past couple of years, that's what we're known for," noted pitcher/shortstop Scooter Rienguette.

"Our hitting just has to do what's it's always done."

The Shamrocks will open with a more than competitive outing, facing the Niagara Falls Falcons, a team which knocked off the northern Ontario powerhouse the last time they met.

"We know what to expect," said Rienguette. "You have to come in ready to play. It's a double elimination, so you have to be ready, right off the bat. You don't want to go down one game and then have to fight all the way back."

There is a different feeling in the air as the Shamrocks close out their pre-provincial preparations, beyond just the jump to the "AA" All-Ontario bracket. The fact is that a seven year run for many of these players will see this crew travelling different paths next year, with some continuing with baseball via the Sudbury Voyageurs organization, and others opting to focus on other pursuits.

"It feels a little different, but the same," said 15 year old grade 10 St Charles College junior Cole Goudreau. "We're putting in a little extra work, because it's going to be our last outing with the boys. We've just got to pull through again."

Reminiscing on his growth in the baseball setting, both on the field and off, Goudreau sees a vastly different player than the one who first donned the green and gold so many years ago.

"I've matured, I understand the game more, understand how things work," he said. "You're not always going to go four for four. You have good games and bad games." It's a message that resonates with both father and coach.

"We started with this group in rookie ball, and tosee them grow from little kids to young men, that's what is going to give me the most satisfaction," summarized Trevor Goudreau.

The 2019 roster for the Bantam Shamrocks includes Carson Harvey, Ryan Lacasse, Nathan Gravel, Ryan Rubic, Ben Fowke, Brett Richardson, Caleb Sanders, Cody Jalbert, Cole McPhee, Cole Goudreau, Justin Lancup, Scooter Rienguette as well as coaches Trevor Goudreau, Chris McPhee, Trevor Cain, Greg Richardson and Scott Rienguette.


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