After a year of substantial improvement, the Carleton men’s baseball team is returning to nationals and are in search of their first national championship.
The Ravens are fresh off a monumental series win in the Northern Division semifinals versus Concordia University, and have clinched a spot in the Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association (CCBA) Nationals.
Carleton entered the playoffs with a modest 8-8 record, and were expected to fall short of an appearance in the Nationals after being matched up with the favoured Concordia Stingers in the semi-finals.
Despite being ousted in three of their four regular season matchups versus Concordia, and scoring only one run in their game one loss, the third-seeded Ravens rallied to defeat Concordia in back-to-back games and clinch their fourth trip to the nationals in five years.
“When we drew Concordia, we weren’t scared,” said Carleton starting pitcher Eric Elliott. “Despite coming up with three losses in the regular season, we thought we were a lot closer than what the scoreboard suggested.”
After scoring only one run in the game one loss, the Ravens jumped out to an 11-0 lead in game two and held on to even the series. The Ravens offence stayed hot into the third game, as they clinched the series win with a dominant 10-4 win.
“That game, everything came together,” said Carleton head coach Andre Robidoux. “We had timely pitching, good defence, and were able to cash people in all at the same time. That’s where it all came together.”
After an off-season that was filled with changes to the roster, the pieces to the puzzle weren’t exactly in place for Robidoux’s team.
“We had a big turnover [from last season]. We lost about half of our team, and most of the guys that came in were all rookies,” he said.
Despite the underwhelming record in the regular season, Robidoux said he was confident in his team’s ability come playoff time.
“We experimented a lot with games, and it kind of backfired, but it also showed me where our assets were and where our weaknesses were,” he said. “So when it came time for the playoffs I knew exactly where to use these guys in a game situation.”
According to Elliott, the Ravens are figuring it out at exactly the right time, not only on but also off the field.
“A lot of guys can attest to it. This is one of the closer groups we’ve played on as far as camaraderie and team chemistry goes,” Elliott said, who spoke about the importance of gelling as a team to make a championship run.
The Ravens lost both their games versus McGill in the Northern Division championship series this weekend. However, Robidoux said he wasn’t too concerned, and was focused on the greater prize at hand.
“The guys were confident knowing that we could rest up, and get our at-bats in. We’re going to be alright,” he said.
Moving forward, the Ravens will attempt to conquer McGill and the rest of the field at the CCBA Nationals in Fredericton. The team will have to pay for their own transportation.
Robidoux said the morale is high, and he thinks the team is more than equipped to win the coveted national title.
“The group itself has grouped into one individual,” he said. “Everyone’s just gelling and having fun together. Looking at that, I have every confidence that we can get to the finals and win it.”
