September 3, 2023

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Woodstock, Ont. - The chant started before Arnold Ohanian had made the trek in from centre field to the mound.

“MVP! MVP! MVP!”

“I don’t think it was our bench,” said Christian Cyr. “I think it was all the other teams who saw Arnold warm up in the bullpen when we were hitting.”

Players from Alberta, BC, Ontario and New Brunswick were cheering.

To set the scene, Quebec 2 held a 6-4 lead over Quebec 1 in the 13U Baseball Canada national championship gold medal game at Southside East ball diamond.

The outfielder turned reliever looked surprised when he got the signal from pitching coach Vincent Pannetonto to close the door for the win.

Cyr explained that “the plan was for him to come in, he didn’t know the pitch count of the player he was replacing.”

As Ohanian threw his warm-up pitches, the chant changed from “MVP! MVP! MVP!” to “Arnold! Arnold! Arnold!”

Matis Trahan scored from second on a throwing error and now it was a one-run game.

With more chants coming, Ohanian (Laval, Que.) struck out a pinch hitter on a 3-2 pitch to wrap up gold for Quebec 2 and the closer tossed his glove into the Woodstock night. Cue the celebratory dog pile as coaches hugged, parents cried and players made a memory which will be with them for 50 years ... at least.

While most players at the tournament are competing at the 13U level, Ohanian has been pitching 15U for Les Associes de Laval and has had his fastball clocked at 80 mph. Ohanian, Quebec 2’s closer, pitched a combined three innings with a win and a save giving up an unearned run, without allowing a base hit. He walked six and struck out eight ... of the nine outs he recorded.

“He’s going somewhere in a couple of years,” Cyr said.

Eimel Segura-Feliz (Gatineau, Que.) picked up the win working 5 1/3 innings, allowing one unearned run, as he walked one and struck out nine in his 76-pitch inning.

He earned Player of the Game award and won the Gold Glove for his play at shortstop.

“He played better than decent shortstop,” Cyr said. “He left the field with his hands full.”

At the plate, Ohanian, who started the final in centre, went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, including a homer and a double. Isaac Cournoyer (Trois-Rivieres) added a pair of hits as the winners outhit the opposition 9-3.

Eloi Gagnon (Vaudreuil-Dorion) singled in a run for Quebec 1, which benefitted from four unearned runs.

* * *

Game 1 _ Quebec 2 opened with a 5-2 loss to Ontario thanks to four fourth-inning runs which erased a 2-0 deficit. Ontario rallied thanks to three walks, singles by Samuel Hornby (Guelph, Ont.) and Conner Haines (Whitby, Ont.), plus a grounder by Lincoln Kwiatkowski (Whitby, Ont.).

Jacob Thibault (Levis, Que.) had two hits for Quebec 2, while Etan Jupp (Sainte-Catherine, Que.) was charged with the loss.

* * *

Game 2 _ Next, Quebec 2 rebounded with a 15-hit attack and a 9-4 win against Manitoba as Ohanian hit a homer leading off the third for a 4-0 lead. He also singled, while Antoine Bilodeau (Levis, Que.), Logan Leclair (Becancour, Que.), Louis-Thomas Milot (Laval, Que.), Edouard St-Aubin (Laval, Que.) and Thibault each had two hits. Leclair doubled and drove in three runs.

Segura-Feliz pitched three scoreless for the win, walking two, striking out a pair and allowing one hit. Felix St-Pierre pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing three runs -- one earned -- on one hit and walking four.

Will Mateychuk (Vita, Man.), Maddox Ramage (Pilot Mound, Man.), Gavin Buhler (Stanley, Man.) and Riley Pineau (Winnipeg, Man.) had hits for Manitoba. Gavin Anderson (Glenboro, Man.) knocked in a run, while Ramage took the loss.

* * *

Game 3 _ Again Quebec 2 pounded out 15 hits in a 13-5 romp over Saskatchewan as Ohanian hit a two-run homer in the first to go up 4-0 in the seven-run first. He also singled twice, driving in three.

Napoleon Rivard (Montreal, Que.) had a pair of hits, including a double, and drove in three, while Bilodeau was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Felix St-Pierre (Saint-Hyancinthe, Que.) had two hits, including a double. Segura-Feliz knocked in three and Jesse Ducharme (Laval, Que.) added a double.

Bilodeau threw 47 pitches in his three-inning outing, allowing three runs -- two earned -- on two hits and one walk, while fanning five.

Jayce Cookson (Regina, Sask.) had two hits for Saskatchewan and drove in a pair, while Carson Mctavish (Saskatoon, Sask.) and Dane Irwin (Swift Current, Sask.) each singled and had an RBI. Mctavish took the loss.

* * *

Game 4, quarter-final _ Down 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth against New Brunswick, Ohanian hit a two-run homer, then Ducharme, who doubled and singled, knocked in a run with a grounder in the sixth and so the game headed to the bottom of the seventh with New Brunswick holding a 4-3 lead.

After a lead-off single to Ohanian, Rivard hit a 3-0 pitch for a walk-off homer to left centre facing Gavin Trask.

“Rivard wasn’t going very well, so we let him swing away on 3-0,” Cyr said. “I had walked him intentionally twice in the Quebec championships, so there was a rivalry between the father and I, but baseball comes first.”

Thibault added a double off Trask (Miramichi, NB), who threw 73 pitches, allowing five runs on eight hits as he didn’t walk a man and struck out five. Jack Cortes (Miramichi, NB) had two hits and drove in a run for New Brunswick, while Grady Betts had the other hit. Sutter McQuaid (Quispamsis, NB), Zachary Reicker (Sussex, NB) and Trask had the other RBIs.

* * *

Game 5, semi-final _ Four runs in the top of the seventh propelled Quebec 2 to a 6-3 win over British Columbia and a berth in the gold medal game. The game was deadlocked 2-2 in the top of the seventh.

“Our toughest game was against BC, they were coming in from what we thought was the weaker pool but they had shown that they could hit,” said Cyr.

The seventh began with a walk to Olivier Belleau (Laval, Que.). An out later, Thibault hit a run-scoring double, Ducharme singled and Rivard had a run-scoring single. Ohanian and Leclair walked to set up a single from Zak-Olivier Guilbeault (Laval, Que.).

Bilodeau pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit and three walks, while fanning seven. St-Pierre pitched two innings giving up four hits and one run. Ohanian pitched the final 1 1/3 innings, striking out three as he allowed one unearned run.

London Funk (Penticton, BC) had two hits and knocked in a run, while Nico Yau (Richmond, BC) and Kaden MacDonald (Ladner, BC) each doubled. Alexander Tamayo (Surrey, BC), Sam Johnston (Ladner, BC) and Sam Mullins (Penticton, BC) each singled. Tyler Hannah took the loss.

Former Blue Jays draft selection Tom Robson (Ladner, BC), a fourth-round pick in 2011, was BC’s pitching coach. He played six seasons in the Blue Jays system, pitching 92 games (194 strikeouts in 252 innings) peaking at double-A New Hampshire in 2017.

* * *

Background _ For Cyr, who does not have a son on the team, it was his first trip to the nationals.

“Every individual play in baseball makes the team better and makes the team better,” said Cyr.

Quebec 2 was compiled of the best from two Laval teams, while Quebec 1 -- which won the provincial title 18-17 over Laval on a passed ball -- is composed of the best of three South Shore teams. Both teams were allowed to add eight players from elsewhere from across the province.

Besides Cyr, the coaching staff was composed of Armen Ohanian (Laval, Que.) and Estalin Segura (Gatineau, Que.) and Panneton (Laval, Que.),

Quebec won silver at Ray Carter Cup at 15U, losing 7-2 to BC in Laval.

Most of the players attend classes and practice at Escadron Sport-Études in Laval, under instructor Renaud Catelier.

* * *

A province on a medal roll _ Maxime Lamarche, executive director of Baseball Quebec, asked “Have you seen the miracle we started in La Belle Province?”

“Lots of French Canadians on the Women’s national team (all coming from the ABC women’s program), lots of men on the Junior National Team (most from the ABC men’s program) and look at the medals.”

Championships:

Gold at 13U nationals 6-5 win against Quebec 1, at Woodstock, Ont.

Gold at 16U women’s, 10-4 win over Ontario, Summerside, PEI

Gold at senior men’s, 6-5 winners over Saskatchewan, Red Deer, Alta.

Gold at senior women’s, 4-0 winners over BC. Halifax and Upper Sackville, NS.

Silver at 13U nationals, 6-5, loss facing Quebec 2 at Woodstock, Ont.

Silver at 21U women’s, 6-3 loss to Ontario, St-John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

Silver at Ray Carter Cup, 15U nationals, 7-2 loss to BC at Laval, Que.

Bronze at 18U, 6-3 winners over Saskatchewan, Fort McMurray, Alta.

Bronze at Ray Carter Cup, 15U nationals, 12-2 win over Alberta, at Laval, Que.

So four golds, three silvers and two bronze medals ... nine medals out of nine competitions.

* * *

Grandson No. 1 _ While the gold medal game in Woodstock was certainly exciting start to finish, of the 12-team tournament, my favorite game was New Brunswick’s 13-6 win against Nova Scotia in a win-or-go-home match.

Our grandson started for New Brunswick and as Hall of Famer GM Pat Gillick always said -- a starter’s job is to give his team a chance to win. LHP Xavier Leblanc (Dieppe, NB) did his job, working four innings.

He allowed three runs -- two earned -- on four singles and a walk, while striking out four, leaving with a 3-2 deficit. Nova Scotia led 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth when New Brunswick put up a straight number: an 11 ... as it went like this

A walk, a force play, a double by Trask, another walk, a two-run single by Callum Shannon (Miramichi, NB), a hit batter, a walk, a two-run double by Reed Collins (Oromocto, NB), singles by McQuaid and Cortes and a three-run homer by Trask.

Twas a wonderful five days with Sarah, Bob, Xavier, Xander, Zachary and Clarence.