Baseball mayday

> Men’s season closes

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

Fe many baseball teams

in the Northwest Athletic
Conference, the month of May
is one for tuning. For others, the
month signifies the start of an
epic competition: the race to the
playoffs. But this year, for the
Royals, the month of May was
one for winding down.

The team left April with a
record of 2-14 and were already
fighting for their playoff lives in
the first game of May, which saw
them face off against a struggling
Olympic College. Right out of the
gates, things looked bad for the
team. The first two innings saw
the error-prone Royals fall into
a hole, as starting pitcher Zach
Champagne struggled to keep
his pitches in the box. Two walks
and three errors gave Olympic
College a four run lead, and gave
Douglas College a mountain to
climb. They would claw back
one run in the third, but went
scoreless until the eighth, where
they were able to bring in another
run. However, a pitching collapse
by the Royals would see six
Olympic batters score runs, and
all but ended the team’s hope
of a comeback. They would end

the game with a good effort in
the ninth but were stopped short
of scoring a run. The final score
was 1-2 for Olympic College.
With that loss, the Royals were
mathematically eliminated from
playoff contention.

However, their season was
far from over. With seven games
left, the Royals went out prove
to themselves that they were
better than their record. They did
exactly that, going on to win two
of their last seven, with one of
the two wins being the pinnacle
of the Royals’ season. During the
team’s last home game against
Edmonds College, starting
pitcher Liam Kano-McGregor
pitched a shutout. In 9 innings,
Kano-McGregor struck out six,
walked one, and allowed three
hits. It was a game for the record
books, and certainly one that
demonstrated just how much
the team had improved since the
start of the season. Shoma Sasaki,
Ethan Fox, and Matt Yee provided
the scoring for the team, with
Sasaki scoring three runs, Fox
scoring two, and Yee finishing
one. This highlight would cap off
the Royals season, as they would
go to lose their final two games.

Although the team did
not end the season where

Softball breakdown

> Reviewing the season with head coach Michelle Peters

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

he pressure of the NWAC

Softball Championship is
nothing new for the Royals’ coach
Michelle Peters. She’s led the
Royals into the championships
for years already, and each
one is a different experience.
This year was ended with an
experience every coach knows,
but rarely wishes. The team
finished second, falling in the
Championship game against
NWAC powerhouse Mt. Hood.

Despite the end result, Peter
was “very happy how this season
played out.” As any coach would,
she credits the team’s success this
year to the players, who made it
all possible. “Players exceeded
my original expectations and
worked extremely hard to ensure
they were contributing every day
towards the team’s success and
goals. The girls were always open
to learning new things, and I
truly believe we got better every
day because of it. Each game,
either win or lose, they learned
something new and ensured they
worked on it to be better the next
game. Because of their unreal
ability of adapting to situations
and adjusting during games in

so many ways along with their
playing experience, raw talent,
and love for the game, the team
was a special team all year long.”

However, Peters wasn’t the
only one who thought highly
of her team. Several players
from the team were honoured
as NWAC All-Stars and All-
Americans. Ace pitcher Keeley
Ainge was named a first team
All-Star and was the only pitcher
from the North division to receive
the honour. Infielders Madison
Heggie and Taylor Woodward
were selected as first team All-
Stars, while Laura Baldry was
named a second team All-Star.
Outfielder Dallas Tilley was
named a first team All-Star,
and Daniella Vilio was named
a second team All-Star. Catcher
Jordan Britten-Yung was also
named a first team All-Star, while
utility player Michaela Moore
was named a second team All-
Star. Woodward was additionally
named an All-American, and was
the only player from the Royals to
receive that honour.

For Peters, it was the work
that occurred off the field that
she credits for their success on
the field. “Team dynamics played
a big role in our improvement
and success throughout the

they wanted, they have shown
significant improvements since
the beginning of the season.
The pitching squad department
have developed into very fine
pitchers this year, but one of the
bunch stood out amongst his
peers. Kano-McGregor started
the year in the bullpen asa
reliever, but through hard work
and consistent play, earned a spot
in the starting rotation. In just
his second game as a starter, he
pitched a shutout game and led

season. The team dealt with some
early and late adversity prior to
season and had to work together
to get through it. The second they
all bought in, they never looked
back and that’s when we began

to take off as a family. They all
trusted each other and believed
in one another. Those bonds took
time, but when it came together
it was wonderful to watch.”

When it comes to the team’s
success overall, Peters isn’t shy
when giving the credit entirely to
her team. “Each one of them got
us to the championship game.
Our bench, our starters, our
coaches. Yes, we have some very
nice athletes, but they were all
stars this year in different games
and different situations. Our
battery (pitchers and catcher)
held this team strong all year
and our defence really improved
daily, witnessing some wonderful
moments and high level plays,
while our offence was explosive
at times and tough to beat one
through nine. Truly anyone could
change the game with one swing
of the bat this year.”

The team was exciting to
watch this year, and with the
right circumstances, they stand a
very good chance of taking it all
next year.

  

the team to its fourth win of the
season. He ended the season with

the Royals’ lowest ERA at 3.18. In
a team leading total of 34 innings
of work, Kano-McGregor struck
out 19 batters.

In the batting department,
it was no secret that the Royals
struggled this year. But despite
an all-around poor swinging year,
several players found a way to hit
balls for the team. Of this elite
group, one batter in particular
had a standout season. Sasaki

Image by Davie Wong

finished his last season with the
Royals with a bang, leading the
team with 21 hits. He had the
team’s second highest batting
average at 0.269, and runners
batted in with eight.

Although the team didn’t
get to where they wanted to this
year, the young guns on the squad
definitely proved themselves able,
especially towards the end of the
season. Every team has down
years. Just watch out for this team
next year.

 

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