Welcome to our website! You are visiting the home of the Niagara Metros of the Central
Ontario "AAA" Major Baseball League. Since 1985, we've been the home for Elite Senior baseball in
the Niagara region.
The St. Catharines Metros would like to
take this opportunity to congratulate the Milton Red Sox on their victory in the finals of the C.O.B.A. Major League Championship
tournament, this past weekend. The Red Sox did it in style, too...running the table by winning 5 straight games en route
to the title.
The Sox defeated the Dundas Chiefs 4-3
on Wednesday, and then knocked off (in succession) the Brampton Battlecats 9-1, the Erindale Cardinals 8-5, the Etobicoke
Rangers 11-4, and finally Erindale once again in the final by a score of 6-5. The final victory was especially sweet
for the Milton club, as they trailed by 4 runs in the 5th inning before Jeff McLeod's Grand Slam HR tied it. They
then won it scoring a run in extra innings. The C.O.B.A. title was the first for the Red Sox in more than
40 years, but with the quality and youth of their current team, it probably won't be their last.
Special congrats go to George Moore, who
worked so hard scouting, recruiting and coaching the "Trailor Park Boys", as he likes to call them. In addition,
a warm Metros "way to go" goes out to coaches Matt McCandless, Kevin Wilson, Ryan Davison and Scott Ballantyne. It's
a very well-earned and long overdue reward.
By the way...we have updated the website
by posting the final stats and a couple of more pictures. Please click on the Standings / Stats or Photo Album links
to the left of the page.
The Burlington Brants pitching and catching
battery of Chris Cooney and J.R. Crosby did the damage as the Burlington Brants defeated the St. Catharines Metros 3-1 on
Friday night...thus eliminating the Metros from the C.O.B.A. Major League Playoffs. For the 1st time in team history,
St. Catharines' season ended without winning a game at the year-end event.
Cooney went the distance on the mound
for Burlington, allowing the Metros 1 unearned run on 5 hits. He walked 2 and struck out 3. Meanwhile catcher
Crosby was carrying the Brants with the bat, hitting 2 home runs and a single and driving in all 3 Burlington runs.
The damage came off the
Metros' hard-luck losing pitcher Dustin Turner. Turner went the distance as well, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, while walking
5 and striking out 2.
Burlington scored all the runs they would
need in the first inning with a pair, and added their 3rd run in the 5th to take a 3-0 lead. The Metros tried to come
back in the 7th and final inning, scoring their only run and leaving 2 runners on base. Justin Czorny, Joe Roach, Jonathan
Paul, Brad Namtzu and Jono Marcheterre all singled, to share in the offensive output.
So, the 2007 season ends on a disappointing
note for the Metros. The final tally puts the overall won-loss record (including tourneys and playoffs) at 23-16-1 in
their 40 games played. On the plus side, the Metros won their 4th Johnson Division title in 6 years and also won the
London Invitational Tournament in July.
The Metros would like to thank a lot of
people for their donations of time, work, attendance and money this season, but we'll save that for a later article.
Stay tuned...
If the St. Catharines Metros are to win
the 2007 C.O.B.A. Major Playoff Tournament, they'll have to do it the hard way. The Metros dropped the opening game
of the tourney right in their home park, by a score of 4-1 to the Erindale Cardinals. The Cardinals were full value
for the win as they outhit the Metros 8-6, and made only 1 error compared to the 3 that the home team committed.
Cardinals starter Steve Gallant kept the
Metros off-balance all night long and tossed the complete game...allowing the 1 run and 6 hits. He walked 5 and struck
out 3. Brian Essery took his second loss of the season after 6 wins. Essery went 5+ innings and gave up 4 runs
(2 earned) and 8 hits. He walked 2 and struck out 3.
Geoff Cullen hit a solo HR for Erindale
while Frank Coccia added a double and single. Joe Roach led the Metros attack with a triple and single. He also
drove in the only Metros run, drew a couple of walks and stole a base. Tim Collins, Justin Czorny, Andrew Sorochan and
Brad Namtzu rounded out the attack for St. Catharines.
The Nokona boys now have their work cut
out for them, to stay in the tourney. They travel to Burlington this evening to play the Brants in a 6:30 game at Nelson
Park. Should they win that one, they'll play at 10:00 AM on Saturday...park and opponent to be determined. Dustin
Turner will get the ball versus Burlington.
The first-round matchups are set for this
year's COBA Playoff tourney, which begins on 2 fronts tonight. The 3rd place Glanbrook Grizzlies host the 6th place
Burlington Brants, while the 4th place Dundas Chiefs host the 5th place Milton Red Sox in Wednesday night action. On
Thursday, the 1st pace Etobicoke Rangers host the 9th place Brampton Battlecats, while the 2nd place St. Catharines Metros
host the 7th place Erindale Cardinals. All the winners and losers will play on Friday night with the Metros slated to
face either Glanbrook or Burlington at Nelson Park in Burlington. The tourney will then continue into the weekend with
the COBA Champions being declared on Sunday.
Thursday night's game at Community Park
will pit the Cards and the Metros for the 4th time this year...St. Catharines with a slim 2-1 edge in the 3 previous games
(which were all decided by one run). Metros ace righthander, Brian Essery will take the hill in a 7:30 start.
See you there...
UPDATE -
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23
The Glanbrook Grizzlies
defeated the Burlington Brants, Wednesday night, by a score of 9-1. Therefore, the winner of tonight's game between
Erindale and St. Catharines will play Glanbrook - Friday night at 8:30 - Nelson Park. The loser will play Burlington
at 6:30 - Nelson Park.
In the other game
played last night, Milton defeated Dundas 4-3. The winner of tonight's Etobicoke - Brampton game plays Milton at 8:30
- Connorvale Park - while the loser will meet Dundas at 6:30.
C.O.B.A. MAJOR LEAGUE - PLAYOFF UPDATE AND TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
The C.O.B.A. Major League Playoffs are
underway and we have the updates and the schedule (as it stands) for the double knockout tourney this week.
Right now there are two - 2 out of
3 playins going on between the bottom four teams from the regular season. Erindale (7) defeated Mississauga North (10)
18-1 in Game 1. Game 2 is scheduled for tonight. Brampton (9) defeated Oakville (8) 8-3 in Game 1, but Oakville
tied the series yesterday with a 3-2 win. Game 3 will be tonight in Oakville.
Should Erindale go on to win over Mississauga,
they will travel to Community Park on Thursday night for a 7:30 game with the St. Catharines Metros (2). Etobicoke (1)
will play the winner of the series between Oakville and Brampton on a date not yet set. The other two tourney games
are scheduled for Wednesday...as Glanbrook (3) hosts Burlington (6) and Dundas (4) hosts Milton (5).
The 2nd round games (games are 7 innings)
will all take place on Friday night...2 games at Nelson Park in Burlington and 2 games at Connorvale Park in Etobicoke.
The start times will be 6:30 and 8:30. The tourney will continue on Saturday morning, 10:00 AM at both parks and then
switches to Nelson for all of the remaining games of the weekend. Should be a lot of great ball played before we crown
our 2007 C.O.B.A. Champion on Sunday.
The St. Catharines Metros finally won
one when they had to! After losing 2 consecutive games that would have clinched the title, the Metros pounded a short-staffed
Burlington Brants team 9-1 at Nelson Park, last night...putting a lock on the Johnson Divison for the second year in a row
and 4th time in 6 years.
St. Catharines used an outstanding start
by veteran lefty, Jason Rabjohn and combined that with a breakout game by Justin Czorny at the plate to win this one.
Rabjohn went the first 6 innings to pick up the win. He allowed 1 run on just 5 hits while walking 0 and striking out
2. Ian Horner, another lefthander, finished up, picking up a 3-inning save. He allowed 0 runs and 1 hit while
walking 2 and striking out 6.
As mentioned this was a breakout game
for Czorny as he led the way with the bat. Justin had 2 singles, a double and a 3-run homer...driving in 4 runs on the
game. Rocco Spano, Brad Namtzu and Tommi Paugh collected 2 singles each with Paugh and Namtzu picking up RBI's.
Jonathan Paul and Ian Stewart added RBI's for the visitors. Darryl Pierce had a double and 2 singles for the Brants.
With the win, the Metros finish the season
at 16-10-1...2 points ahead of runners-up Glanbrook. With that, the Metros get a week off, while the bottom 4 teams
play a 2 out of 3 series to win their way into the final Playoff tourney. As the second overall seed, the Metros will
host one of the teams that advance from those playins next Thursday night at Community Park. Game time is 7:30.
Check this spot next week for all the updated playoff info from around the COBA Major Baseball League.
The St. Catharines Metros and Glanbrook
Grizzlies played perhaps the finest game of the year last night, as the Grizzlies scored an unearned run in the 7th inning
to nip the visitors 2-1. The story of the game was missed opportunities and outstanding pitching for both teams.
Glanbrook left 13 runners on base while the Metros left 12, including the tying and winning runs on 2nd and 3rd in the 9th.
Part of the reason for all the stranded
runners was the "clutch" pitching of starters Andrew Page of Glanbrook and Dustin Turner of St. Catharines. Page went
8+ innings, allowing 1 run on 9 hits while walking 4 and striking out 10. Mike Grilli came on in the 9th to retire all
3 batters he faced to record the save. Turner pitched perhaps his best game since joining the Metros as an 18 year-old
in 2003. He went 7 innings, and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 7 hits. He walked 5 and struck out 10, making his
best pitches when the Grizzlies got men into scoring position. Brian Essery pitched 1 inning of relief for the
Metros, allowing 1 hit.
As mentioned, the second of the Metros'
2 errors led to the game's winning run...while the Grizzlies played errorless ball. SS Adam Cholewka had 2 hits and
an RBI for the home team...and also made a nice play on the final out of the game, with 2 Metros runners in scoring position.
The Metros got a 4 for 4 night (including a double) from Jonathan Paul, to lead the offense. Joe Roach doubled and singled
while Tommi Paugh added a single and an RBI. Rocco Spano and Justin Czorny rounded out the attack for the Metros with
a single each.
With the win Glanbrook, finishes the season
at 14-10-3, tied with the Metros who are 15-10-1 with 1 game remaining. That game will take place Thursday night at
Nelson Park in Burlington, as the Metros face the Brants. Game time is 7:30. A Metros win (or a Brants loss tonight
against Etobicoke) will assure a Johnson Divison title for St. Catharines.
The St. Catharines Metros and Burlington
Brants have re-scheduled their rainout from this past Tuesday, changing the look of the final week of the regular COBA schedule.
The Brants will host the Metros on Thursday, August 16th - 7:30 - at Nelson Park in Burlington. So, the Metros will
now play their final 2 regular season games next week...the other being a Tuesday night visit to Bernie Arbour Stadium in
Hamilton to play the Glanbrook Grizzlies. The following week, the C.O.B.A. Major League Championship Tourney will begin,
with a game, most likely, being played at Community Park in St. Catharines on Thursday, August 23rd. The tourney will continue
into the weekend, with the Champion being crowned on Sunday, August 26. We'll keep you posted.
The St. Catharines Metros' Johnson Division
title hopes took a serious hit last night, as the Mississauga North Tigers downed them 7-5 at Meadowvale North Field.
While the Metros were not at their best on this evening, the Tigers were certainly not the same team that St. Catharines swept
10-0 and 10-0 earlier in the season. Mississauga matched the visitors in hits with 8, and in errors with
2...as well as cashing in on the game's only home run (a 3-run shot) by Matthew Dekundy.
The Tigers scored 2 in the 1st, and 4
in the 3rd to take a 6-0 lead, before the Metros made it 6-5 in the 5th. But Mississauga scored a single in the 7th
to put the game on ice by the score of 7-5. Lefty, Alex Baldassi picked up the win in relief for the
Tigers, pitching the final 4 2/3 innings and allowing 0 runs on 3 hits. Another lefty, Ian Horner went the distance
for St. Catharines and allowed 7 runs (only 3 earned) on 8 hits. He walked 5 and struck out 7, in losing his first game
of the season after 4 wins.
In addition to Dekundy's home run, the
Tigers got 3 hits, including a double, from Andrew Giandola. The Metros got 2 hits each from Jono Marcheterre and
Rocco Spano with Marcheterre picking up an RBI. Brad Namtzu chipped in with an RBI single and an RBI Sac Fly, while
Tim Collins, Joe Roach and Andrew Sorochan added singles.
St. Catharines now falls to 15-9-1
on the season, with 2 games remaining...and lead the Dundas Chiefs by 2 points, with the Chiefs holding a game in hand.
The Glanbrook Grizzlies are also in the hunt for the Johnson title, trailing by 4, also with a game in hand. The next
action for St. Catharines is Tuesday night at Hamilton's Bernie Arbour Stadium, as they take on the Grizzlies in the
final scheduled game of the regular season. The Brants-Metros rainout from this week has not been re-scheduled as of
yet, but the announcement should be posted here within a couple of days.
For the second time, the Metros and Brants
were scheduled to play at Nelson Park in Burlington...and for the second time the game was rained out. Last night's
rainout was originally scheduled for July 4th, but it seems Mother Nature doesn't want this game to be played. The 2
teams should have an announcement about a new date for the game, later in the week. The Metros don't have to wait
too long for their next game, however. They take the "Meadowvale North" field on Wednesday evening, as they
play the Mississauga North Tigers at 7:30.
In the meantime, we thought we'd
amuse you with some new photos we've posted on the website. There is a nice picture of our two newest retirees, from
a ceremony held prior to last Thursday's game against Erindale, and then a bunch of pictures from our annual summer blowout,
known as Metromania. Please click on the "Photo Album" link to the left of this page.
On a night when Metros legends Frank Keltos
and Lou Gazzola had their jersey numbers retired, and a large and enthusiastic crowd was on hand, the St. Catharines Metros
and Erindale Cardinals showed everyone how good the C.O.B.A. Major Baseball League can be. The Metros scored 3 early
runs and held off the hard-charging Cardinals to win the game 3-2. With many Metros alumni in the crowd for the special
night, the 2 teams combined great pitching, outstanding defense and timely hitting, to produce a very entertaining game that
was over in 2 hours and 18 minutes.
St. Catharines got 2 runs in the 1st and
1 in the 2nd, to take an early lead...but Erindale scored a run in the 4th and another in the 8th to make it a nail-biter.
Lefty Jason Ermers earned the victory on the mound, going 7 innings and allowing just 4 singles. He walked 2 and struck
out 4. Another lefty, Ian Horner pitched the final 2 innings for the save. He gave up 1 unearned run and 1 hit
while striking out 2. John DeWolfe went 6 innings in taking the loss for the Cardinals.
Jonathan Paul had an RBI double and a
single to lead the Metros 10 hit attack. Brad Namtzu also doubled and singled, while Rocco Spano singled twice and added
an RBI. Tim Collins' RBI single and other singles by Justin Czorny, Andrew Sorochan and Jono Marcheterre completed the
Metros offense. Erindale got an RBI single from Kevin Triechel.
The Metros, with the win, improve to 15-8-1
on the season and regained their 2 point lead over Dundas in the Johnson Division standings. Erindale remains in 2nd
place in the Andrews Division at 13-11. St. Catharines, with 3 road games left in the regular schedule, are next
in action Tuesday, August 7 as they travel to Burlington for a make up game with the Brants. Game time at Nelson
Park is 7:30.
As mentioned in the previous write-up,
we have a special night planned on Thursday, this week. The Erindale Cardinals are coming to Community Park for the
Metros' final home game of the 2007 season. And we've decided to mark the occasion by honouring two former members of
the St. Catharines Metros...two players who made an indelible mark on the Metros franchise and indeed Senior baseball in Ontario
during the decade of the 1990's.
1st Baseman, Frank Keltos played from
1990 to 2001, and in his 12 years he re-wrote the Metros record book. His 33 team batting records and 3 COBA M.V.P.
awards, barely tell the story of how important he was to the Metros over the years. His 72 career HR's, 423 career RBI's,
and 74 hits in a season are just 3 examples of his records that may never be broken.
Pitcher, Lou Gazzola played from 1988
to 2005, and in his 18 year Metros career, he put up numbers that are hard to believe. More than 240 games pitched,
1300+ innings, and most importantly...105 wins. He also won 3 COBA Major League awards and was voted "Top Pitcher"
by his teammates 8 times, including 7 years in a row.
The two players will have their respective
jersey numbers retired in a short ceremony before Thursday's game...a little thank you for all their years of hard work, dedication
and success. They will follow in the rather large footsteps of the previous honourees, Bob Asham, Frank Iker,
Tim Krawczyk, Dave Lafleur and Mike Coull.
The ceremony gets underway at 7:30 sharp.
By the way, for all the stats and records of Mr. Keltos and Mr. Gazzola, please click on the "Metros Archive"
link, just above this story and go to "Stats/Leaders/Records". You will truly be amazed at what these two players
were able to accomplish.
P.S.
On another note, we've added 11 pictures
to our website from this past weekend's London tournament. Just click on "Photo Album" at the left of this page and
enjoy.
. The Niagara Metros are very pleased to have Cat's Caboose
Dining Coach and Bar Car as their
corporate partner in 2011.
Click on the logo to visit the Cat's Caboose website.
Located in the heart of Old Glenridge,
Cat's Caboose is one of
St.
Catharines' oldest and most established restaurants.
The place for LIVE ENTERTAINMENT and GREAT FOOD.
.
.
.
Check out ourShowcase Filmfor the period of February 13 to February 27.
Just scroll
to the bottom of this page and press "Play".
__________________________________
Click to visit the "St. Catharines Standard" Website.
Thank You:
To the St. Catharines Standard
for allowing us to use pictures and articles throughout this website.
.
.
Niagara Metros website reaches 100,000 hits on April 18, 2010.
hits since December, 2004
Thanks for visiting
.
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Click the link for Bullett Proof Baseball Academy
The Bullett Proof Prospects and Niagara Metros are partners in providing elite baseball to Niagara.
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Niagara Metros Bi-Weekly "Baseball Film
Feature"
.
This
week, on our "Baseball Film Feature" section, we have found a little gem that will make any "true ballplayer"
chuckle. It's a hilarious "home-made" film by what looks like a group of U.S. College ballplayers with a great
idea about how we talk about the game we love, but in a language that only we can understand. Check out this video,
and count how many baseball euphamisms you're guilty of saying or doing when your "at the yard". It's a little
3 minute masterpiece entitled "Shit Ballplayers Say". And believe us when we say, "These guys can really
bring the chedd..."
Don't forget to check out the
Metros Archive Section!
You will see the history of
our team, as well as the past glories of St. Catharines Senior Baseball in words and pictures dating back to the 1940's.
Just click on the link near the top of this Main Home Page.
