Baseball: the Voltigeurs responded to the challenges

BASEBALL. For the first time in ages, the Cégep de Drummondville collegiate baseball program is not regular season champion within the Quebec Student Sports Network (RSEQ).

Despite a sparkling record of 11 wins and just one loss, the reigning playoff champions finished this campaign tied with the Cégep Limoilou Titans at the top of the general standings. In its first year in the college network, the Quebec team won the tiebreaker thanks to the point differential in the duels between the two teams.

According to head coach Samuel Guilbert, the Voltigeurs are banking on a happy mix of dominant second-year players, a few seasoned veterans and promising rookies.

“I gave my players really good challenges this season. Each time, they responded in the right way,” explained the man who plays with Brock Nutrite Lambert, in the Quebec Major Baseball League.

“Our offensive lineup is extremely fast and well balanced,” he added. Our pitching staff throws a lot of strikes, which gives us momentum. We have a lot of depth on the mound. To back it all up, we really have a very good defense.”

Due to the reconstruction work at the Jacques-Desautels stadium, the Voltigeurs had to play on opposing fields this season. The team notably played a few games at the Léo-Asselin stadium in Acton Vale.

“Our season was full of challenges,” explained Samuel Guilbert. We had to do some gymnastics to have the same training volume as in previous years. We practiced on the grounds that were available in Drummondville. We remained positive, but we asked a lot of the players. Often they had to travel by bicycle. The guys are really excited about the new stadium coming next year.”

Furthermore, the Voltigeurs invited Japanese Ryo Kohigashi to join the program’s coaching staff this season. After helping the Quebec Capitales win the championship in the Frontier League, the former Brock pitcher will play in Australia and Mexico over the coming months.

“Ryo has an exceptional impact on our players. Its history is very resilient. He is getting closer and closer to his dream. As he learned to speak English, he can share his experience with us. We can have good baseball discussions and learn a lot from him,” argued Samuel Guilbert.

During the two games between the Voltigeurs and the Titans on October 5 at Acton Vale, each team enjoyed a victory. Drummondville won the first match 4-3 in overtime while Limoilou won 7-2 in the second clash. It was ultimately this result which tipped the balance in favor of the Titans in the general classification.

“It’s a team similar to ours,” said Samuel Guilbert. The medium and long term objective is to have a very competitive college league. Limoilou, it follows suit in that sense. We are really happy to be able to count on such competition in our league.

Banking on the pool of players from the Diamants and the Alouettes, in the elite junior circuit of Quebec, the Titans also want to be a continuation of the Canonniers sports-study program.

“These are guys who have been playing together for a long time. They are also an extremely well-coached team. That they are good this year is really no surprise. They are going to be good year after year,” said Samuel Guilbert.

Place in the playoff tournament

Aside from their regular schedule, the Voltigeurs played around twenty exhibition games this fall. During a trip to the United States, the Drummondvillois recorded three victories in four outings against the Bryant & Stratton College Bobcats.

“We had prepared the guys for it to be really difficult. It’s a college team, so their players are older. Against all expectations, we came out of there with three victories. Before this year, our record was 1-11 against this program,” indicated Samuel Guilbert, who also believes that several of his protégés have attracted the attention of American college programs.

Last Sunday, the Drummondvillois also won 6-1 against the Canadian Baseball Academy’s under-18 team in an exhibition duel played at Gary Carter Stadium in Montreal.

“We were facing the best program in Quebec. We saw this match as preparation for the final four. We played a perfect match. We used a committee of pitchers. Our five captains had the ball. Together, they allowed just four hits and one earned run in nine innings. I was really impressed with our pitchers and our defense,” said Samuel Guilbert.

The day before, in Acton Vale, the Voltigeurs closed their regular season by inflicting corrections of 11-1 and 16-0 on the Boomerang of Cégep André-Laurendeau. The two teams will face each other in the semi-finals of the elimination tournament.

“We were taken by surprise. André-Laurenteau’s first batter hit a home run 375 feet from home plate. Finally, it gave us a little wake-up call. We were able to win both matches quite easily, but we know that on this kind of day, anyone can beat anyone. This is why it is important to focus on ourselves and our preparation,” recalled Samuel Guilbert.

This semi-final will take place on Saturday, from 2 p.m., at the Léo-Asselin stadium. In the regular season, the LaSalle team finished third in the standings thanks to a record of seven wins and five losses.

“We have been approaching the final four in the same way for several years. The key is not complicated: we can’t see further than the first round. The ultimate goal is to win the first round of the day. Then it will be to win the second, then the third and so on. We want to win one round at a time. It’s really with this state of mind that we will start this day.”

The other semi-final will pit the Titans against the Lynx from Cégep Édouard-Montpetit (4-8). The RSEQ final will be played Saturday evening, starting at 6 p.m., at the Léo-Asselin stadium.

General ranking