The Université de Montréal (UdeM) Carabins (3-10) committed six errors and walked seven batters before begging McGill for leniency. The Redmen (13-1) coasted to a 10-0 mercy-shortened victory this past Wednesday at Gary Carter Field in Cote St. Luc, Quebec.
Redmen starting pitcher Henry Dennis, a sophomore history major, held the Carabins to no runs on two hits in five innings, striking out five and walking none.
“I felt loose [and] good to go. The only difference from last week is I was throwing strikes,” Dennis said, referring to his last start, in which he allowed one hit and walked five. “My team was making plays as usual. I had more energy, my arm felt loose and live.”
The Redmen got on the board in the second inning, when third baseman Jared Kersh singled home designated hitter Camden Lawhead. Right fielder Jack Pantalena came home on centre fielder Rocky Hroch’s groundout to extend the lead to 2-0. From that point on, the Redmen dominated the Carabins offensively, scoring eight more runs on eight hits and four errors over the next three innings. The game was called in the bottom of the fifth inning when shortstop Louis-Xavier Labrosse singled home left fielder Jonathan Duforest for the tenth run, bringing the Mercy Rule into effect.
After clinching first place in the CCBA’s Northern Division with a win over the rival Concordia Stingers on Monday, the Redmen are looking ahead to the playoffs.
“We have a good group of guys, we work hard every game, and the scoreboard usually shows it,” Dennis said. “I’m excited. It’s my second year, I think we have a better team than last year, and if there’s a team that can three-peat it’s this one.”
Despite playing five games in five days, the Redmen haven’t looked tired. Head Coach Jason Starr is confident about his team’s performance heading into the postseason.
“We came out strong, we’ve played a lot of baseball in the last few days,” Starr said. “We just want to keep getting better into October.”
The semifinals will take place the weekend of Oct. 15-16. On Saturday, Oct. 15, the Redmen will host the eventual fourth-place finishers in their division for the first two games of the best-of-three series. If necessary, game three will be played at their opponent’s on Sunday.
The Redmen head to Vermont to play in a non-conference tournament this weekend. McGill will host Carleton for a double-header next Saturday in the last games of the conference regular-season.
Quotable: “This is the level we expect out of [Henry….] We like to hold our guys to high standards. He was good tonight, didn’t walk, and was in control.” – Head Coach Jason Starr on starting pitcher Henry Dennis’ performance.
Stats Corner: UdeM pitchers Marc-André Towner and Pascal Desjardins faced a total of 33 McGill batters over five innings.
Moment of the Game: With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning and McGill leading 8-0, UdeM reliever Pascal Desjardins walked pinch-hitter Jake Guggenheimer, driving in the first run of the inning. Lacrosse then singled to right, scoring Duforest and ending the game.
