Fieldhouse Pirates grad Steven Hospital (Oakville, Ont.) made his 92nd pitching appearance with Niagara University to set a new school record. Photo: Niagara Athletics

May 27, 2024

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

Division I conference tournaments wrapped up on Sunday with plenty of highlights from those who call north of the border home.

At other levels, postseason play carried on towards the ultimate goal.

Let’s get caught up on all the action in this week’s edition of the BMOC.

Canadians come through as Niagara wins first MAAC title

With an impressive regular season in the books, Niagara University set out to try and win their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship.

It took them three games to accomplish the feat, running the table against Rider, Mount St. Mary’s and Fairfield to earn their spot in a regional this weekend.

As he has all season, Zach Cameron (Hamilton, Ont.) was stellar out of the bullpen. The former Fieldhouse Pirate picked up his 11th save against Rider with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed a hit and struck out one. Summoned again against Mount St. Mary’s, Cameron worked three innings and gave up one run on one hit and a walk. He struck out four. In the final, he tossed two scoreless, hitless innings with a strikeout.

Cameron wasn’t the only reliever to work in all three games, as Steven Hospital (Oakville, Ont.) did the same. Hospital totalled 3 2/3 innings and yielded one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out two. His second appearance against Mount St. Mary’s was his 92nd of his career, making him Niagara’s all-time leader in the category.

Lefty Noah Richardson (Windsor, Ont.) will be remembered as the pitcher who picked up the win in the championship game. Richardson worked a scoreless inning and gave up a hit and struck out one to move his record to 7-0. He also worked two scoreless innings against Mount St. Mary’s, giving up a hit and two walks while striking out two.

Matt Ward (Mississauga, Ont.) chipped in seven hits, three walks and five RBIs over the three games. He hit a solo home run in a 9-7 win over Rider and a two-run home run in the final against Fairfield.

McHarg named All-American

His season may be done but Payton McHarg (Saskatoon, Sask.) is still being recognized for his play. McHarg was named a Second Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after hitting .354 with 21 home runs, 67 RBIs, a .473 on-base percentage and a .743 slugging percentage.

Vallee named to MVC All-Tournament Team

Southern Illinois’ Mathieu Vallee (Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, Que.) did everything he could out of the leadoff spot to help the Salukis during their Missouri Valley Conference tournament run. Vallee collected 10 hits, walked four times and drove in five as his team went 2-2. He hit a solo home run in a 12-2 opening game win over Belmont and finished the tournament with a 4-for-5 performance with an RBI as the Salukis were eliminated by No. 20 Indiana State. For his play, he was named to the MVC All-Tournament Team.

Victoria Eagles alum Owen Luchies (Victoria, BC) allowed just one run in six innings in his start for Lower Columbia. Photo: Lower Columbia Athletics

Luchies beats Blue Mountain

Owen Luchies (Victoria, BC) threw six innings and conceded one run on three hits as Lower Columbia downed Blue Mountain 6-2. He struck out five.

Mercado’s relief a little too late for Boll Weevils

Right-hander Nelson Mercado (Brampton, Ont.) came on in relief for Arkansas Monticello in Game 2 of their Super Regional series against No. 1 Central Missouri and threw six innings. The one-time Ontario Blue Jay allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks. He struck out four but the Boll Weevils fell 9-4 and dropped the series 2-0.

Gravel was good against Incarnate Word

Alexis Gravel (Repentigny, Que.) collected his second win of the season with six innings of work for McNeese State in Game 2 of their Southland Conference Tournament against Incarnate Word. Gravel scattered three hits and two runs in the 6-2 victory. He walked two and struck out three.

Kurt Barr (Saint Joachim, Ont.) logged 10 1/3 innings in two games for Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament. Photo: Michigan Athletics

Barr makes two starts in Big Ten Tournament

Michigan certainly has trust in sophomore right-hander Kurt Barr (Saint Joachim, Ont.), and for good reason. Barr took the ball in Game 1 of the Big Ten Tournament and turned in 6 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs on six hits with a walk and four strikeouts in a 3-2 win over Iowa. Three games later against Penn State, he tossed four more innings, surrendering three runs (one earned) on three hits. He walked three and struck out six in a 7-6 loss.

That’s a wrap for another week on the college baseball schedule.

Come back a week from today for more Canadian highlights.

Do you know of a player deserving of a mention in the weekly BMOC column? Email Matt Betts at mattbetts@canadianbaseballnetwork.com. Please note that our week runs Monday-Sunday.

Be sure to follow Matt Betts at @Bettsy41 for extensive Canadian baseball coverage all season long.

BMOC XVIII: Barr, Gravel, Luchies, McHarg, Richardson, Vallee