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Monday, October 31, 2011
MORE HONOURS FOR BAGLIERI, FERRI, AND ANDERSON
The Central Ontario Major Baseball League held
it's annual year-end awards banquet last Thursday night...and it was once again a rousing success for both the league and
the Niagara Metros. With a huge turnout of players, coaches, umpires and league executives in attendance to enjoy a
great meal and view the awards ceremonies, Metros players Evan Baglieri, Ricky Ferri and Taylor Anderson came home with trophies
and recognition for their superlative 2011 seasons.
Baglieri came away with two major awards...the league
Batting title (with a .470 league average), and then the big one, the League's Most Valuable Player Award. "Bags"
edged Glanbrook's Tim Sogan, and Mississauga's Jamie Smith in voting done by the league's coaches and managers. Evan's
numbers in 2011 were certainly worthy of the award, as (in addition to his .470 average) he collected 9 HR's and
44 RBI's in league play, and finished with a league OBP of .561. The 2nd-year catcher also threw out opposing base-stealers
at a 38% rate.
Ferri, for his part, was outstanding as well, and was rewarded with the league's Rookie-of-the-Year
award for 2011. Ricky edged out Dusty Roskam of Milton, and James Bynes of Mississauga for the trophy.
Ferri was full value for his award, as he compiled a .330 Batting average in 26 league games. He led the league in runs
scored, walks and stolen bases out of the lead-off spot in the Metros lineup, and he too posted a fantastic On Base Pct. of
.529.
Both Baglieri (at Catcher) and Ferri (as an OF) were named to the Johnson Division Year-end All-Star team,
and were joined by the Metros' Taylor Anderson, who was named the starting 2nd baseman on the team. Anderson, who was
the Metros' nominee for the league's "Iron Man Award", compiled a .393 average while playing in every league
game for the Metros (.407 BA overall). He also led the team in hits (with 59), while drawing 26 walks, and striking
out just 7 times all season.
The Metros' other nominee for a major award, Geoff Strong finished 2nd to Chris Cooney
of Glanbrook, in the balloting for the League's Top Pitcher award. The other C.O.M.B.L. Year-end award winners were:
Bill Graham "Iron Man" Award - Kevin Lee, Oakville
Sportsman of the Year - John DeWolfe, Erindale
Playoff Most Valuable Player - Sean Mathe, Milton
Executive of the Year - George Moore, Milton
C.O.M.B.L. HR Champion
- Chris Novia, Erindale
Andrews Division - Erindale Cardinals
Johnson Division Champions - Milton Red Sox
Overall Regular Season Champions - Erindale Cardinals
Playoff Champions - Milton Red Sox
Here are the C.O.M.B.L.
All-Star Teams (as voted on by the league managers and coaches):
C
Conrad Bach (Oak)1B Geoff Cullen (Erin)2B Mark Capone (Eto)3B
Andrew Kotulak (Oak)SS Jamie Smith (Miss)OF Ryan Knight (Bra)OF
John DeWolfe (Erin)OF Vic Speciale (Bra)DH Chris Novia (Erin)RHP
Andrew Hyde (Eto)LHP James Byrnes (Miss)CL Mark Tourangeau (Oak)
Johnson All-Star Team C
Evan Baglieri (Nia)1B Kevin Cooper (Mil)2B Taylor Anderson (Nia)3B
Sean Mathe (Mil)SS Luke Posavad (Bur)OF Paul Saville (Bur)OF
Corrie Morrison (Gla)OF Ricki Ferri (Nia)DH Jon Amendola (Bur)RHP
Tim Sogan (Gla)RHP Ian Zettle (Mil)CL Ryan Colling (Gla)
The final event on the agenda was the
naming of a number of new entrants to the C.O.M.B.L. Hall-of-Fame, of which there were 5 members from the St. Catharines
Metros. We'll announce those 5 players names, and review their careers in next week's update.
We
have posted a number of new photos from the C.O.M.B.L. Year-end banquet on the site. Just go to the "Photo Album"
and scroll to the bottom of the page to view the new pictures. Once again congratulations to all the winners, and
especially the winners and nominees of the Metros. Great job!
10:24 am | link
Monday, October 24, 2011
C.O.M.B.L. BANQUET THIS THURSDAY EVENING
One of the highlights of the baseball year is happening
this coming Thursday night, as the C.O.M.B.L. holds its annual year-end banquet. The best and brightest stars in COBA
will be honoured with an awards celebration, dinner and social event for the 29th consecutive season. That is a
statistic that the league is very proud of! This year's event takes place at the King's Court Banquet Center, at 1159
King Road in Burlington. The agenda features a cash bar (opening at 6:00), a beautiful all-you-can-eat roast beef buffet
(at 7:15) and the awards ceremony at about 8:15. It all wraps up at around 10:00. It's a great chance for the
players and coaches to get together and talk baseball one last time before we begin our long winter's hibernation.
This year's edition of the Niagara Metros will be in on some of the awards, although we don't know entirely who will win
and what the whole picture looks like at this point. We do know that the Metros' Evan Baglieri has won the
league batting title, and will be so honoured for his gaudy .470 batting average. It's the 2nd consecutive Metros'
batting title...Dave Davidson having won the award in 2010 with a .516 mark. We also know that the Milton Red Sox will
be awarded the Johnson Division title along with the Barry Dobson Playoff Championship Trophy, while the Erindale Cardinals will
be awarded the Andrews Division Trophy. Finally, we know that Erindale's Chris Novia will be awarded the C.O.M.B.L.
HR Trophy, as he edged out Baglieri 10-9 during the 2011 regular season.
Here's what has yet to be announced:
League M.V.P. (Niagara's Baglieri is nominated for this trophy, in addition to his batting title honour)
Top
Pitcher (Niagara's Geoff Strong has been nominated after another outstanding year on the Metros' mound)
Rookie
of the Year (Niagara's Ricky Ferri has been nominated after a terriffic 1st season in the league)
Other awards being handed out are the Bill Graham "Iron Man" award, the C.O.M.B.L. Sportsman of the Year, the
C.O.M.B.L. Playoff M.V.P. Trophy, and the C.O.M.B.L. Executive of the Year award. In addition, the year-end All
Star teams will be announced for each division.
All in all, it should be a great night. Anyone that
might be still interested in attending, should let G.M. Mark Walters know before the end of Tuesday, so he can arrange for
a meal. For the folks already attending, we'll see you Thursday. Talk to you next week, with a recap of all the
winners.
BADGERS
LOSE, U. OF T. WINS AT O.U.A. CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tough break for the Brock Badgers
in their quest to win the O.U.A. Championship this past weekend in Waterloo. The Badgers, who finished in 1st place
in the O.U.A. regular season standings, dropped a couple of games on Saturday (14-4 to Laurier and 10-7 to Western) to bow
out of the Championships. The second game loss was especially tough, as the team surrendered a 9th-inning Grand Slam
HR, after leading the entire game.
The University of Toronto Blues went on to capture the O.U.A. title, as
they downed the Western Mustangs 8-4 in the Championship game. Congrats to the Blues, the Mustangs, the Laurier Hawks
(who also made it to the Final 4) and the Badgers on their fine seasons, in the O.U.A. wars.
In recognition of
this victory by the Blues, we have posted a new "Baseball Film Feature" at the bottom of this page. The
film is produced by the Toronto Varsity Blues, and features a couple of clips from the game itself and some of the
post-game celebrations. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and press "Play".
9:42 am | link
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
COLLEGE FALL BALL UPDATE
Well, a lot has happened since we last updated things
in the O.U.A. baseball league! The Brock Badgers (featuring 3 Metros players) rallied to win 12 in a row, after getting
off to a 3-6 start, and finished in 1st place in the O.U.A. standings. Their 15-6 mark was 1 game better than the Western
Mustangs, and the boys were obviously pumped about their incredible run. However, that was (so far) the end
of the good news for the Badgers, albeit the bad news was well beyond their control.
The O.U.A. Championship
finals were scheduled for last weekend at Laurier, and although they gave it a try (Brock managed to get 4 innings in against
Laurier and trail in the game 4-1), tournament organizers were unsuccessful in declaring a Champion. The rains
put a damper on the entire weekend, forcing postponement until the upcoming October 22 weekend. Unfortunately, the Canadian
Intercollegiate Baseball Association also has their Championships scheduled for this upcoming weekend, as well. So,
for the first time in many years, the O.U.A. will not send a representative to the Canadian Championships, which is obviously
a bitter pill to swallow for all 4 teams competing.
The Badgers, undaunted, will play on for the O.U.A.
title, however. The current plan has Brock picking up their game with Laurier in the 5th inning, at 11:00
AM Saturday - Bechtel Park in Waterloo. They follow that with a game at 2:00 at Jack Couch Park in Kitchener, and then
(hopefully) a 6:00 game, back at Bechtel. The finals are scheduled for Sunday at 11:00.
On an individual
basis, this past fall ball season was a good one for the Metros players that were competing. The 6 players put
up some impressive numbers, and were instrumental in whatever success their various teams achieved. Here is a brief
synopsis of the Metros' Canadian college players and their seasons:
Brock Badgers
Ricky Ferri - 23 for 71 (.324), 12 RBI, 12 SB (2nd on team), 23 Runs (2nd on team)
Kamil Oubayan - 7 for 25 (.280), 1 HR, 4 RBI
Geordan Dennahower -
3 for 7 (.429), 1 RBI
McMaster Marauders
Geoff Strong
- 10 for 39 (.256), 3 triples (1st on team), 1 HR (1st on team), 8 RBI's (2nd on team)
Geoff Strong
- 23.1 innings pitched, 12 walks, 34 K's (1st on team), 0-3 record
Waterloo Warriors
Brandon Beattie - 16.2 innings pitched, 9 walks, 12 K's, 2-2 record
Crandall Chargers
Dan Proctor - 5 for 14 (.357), 3 RBI, 3 runs, 9
walks, 1 K
Dan Proctor - 14 innings pitched, 10 walks, 18 K's (2nd on team), 2-1 record
Congrats to all 6 players on their fine fall ball seasons. And best of luck to the Badgers, who's quest
for an O.U.A. Championship continues on the weekend. We'll give you a final update next week.
9:58 am | link
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
A SALUTE TO ALL THE CHAMPIONS!
In what has become an annual ritual here at metrosbaseball.ca, we are going to take up a little webspace
to salute all of the champs in senior baseball this past summer. What we've done is scour the net to find as many of
the winners and runners-up in the various Ontario Championships, League Championships and Tournament Championships from
2011, and give them a little recognition. A tip of the cap for a job well done, from the Metros! We'll start with
the most high-profile and highest level of championship...
The Canadian National Championship
Gold Medal - Ontario 1 (Windsor Stars) Silver
Medal - B.C.
By the way...we'd
like to send out addtional congrats to two "friends of the Metros" (and team members in 2010), Dustin Wiley
and Mike Czerwieniec. They both played a major role in the Stars' National Championship run. Way to go,
guys! O.B.A Championships
"AAA" Champions - Windsor Stars
Finalists - Mississauga Twins
"AA" Champions - Bolton
Brewers Finalists - Vaughn Vikings
"A"
Champions - Orillia Majors Finalists
- Kendal Eagles
"B" Champions - Maple City Brewers
Finalists - Mitchell Astros
"C" Champions - Thorold
Mariners Finalists - Pt. Lambton Pirates
League Championships
C.O.M.B.L. Champs - Milton Red
Sox Finalists - Oakville A's
G.T.B.L.
Champs - Markham Pioneers Finalists - Leaside
Leafs
S.W.B.L. Champs - Exeter Express Finalists -
Ilderton Red Army
Can-Am Champs - Troy Jet Box
Finalists - Tecumseh Thunder Jrs.
N.D.B.A. Champs - Rose City Thorns
Finalists - Niagara Falls Expos
N. Duff. Champs - Bolton Brewers
Finalists - New Lowell Knights
W.C.B.L. Champs -
Sarnia Braves Finalists - Pt. Lambton Pirates
Tournament Championships
Vaughn Champs - Peterboro
RiverDogs Finalists - Vaughn Vikings
Tillsonburg Champs - Thornhill Reds Finalists - Ilderton Red Army
Strathroy
Champs - Niagara Metros Finalists - Martingrove W. Sox
Lakeside
Champs - Windsor Stars Finalists - Exeter
Express
"Hap Walters" Champs - Windsor Stars
Finalists - Oakville A's
Congratulations to all the Champions and Finalists
listed here. You have succeeded at something that only a handful of teams get to accomplish each summer, and
deserve this recognition. By the way, check out our "Baseball Film Feature" at the bottom of this page
for a further tribute. In 2011 - "You are the Champions".
10:59 am | link
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
MORE HONOURS FOR BAGLIERI, METROS
As we mentioned in our story last week, the Central
Ontario Major Baseball League Executive Board met in Burlington, to finish up the business of the 2010 season. Part
of that business was the voting for the various individual awards that are presented at the league's year-end banquet...along
with the declaration of the final league statistics. And the Metros were well-represented among the finalists for
the league hardware. First the results of the statistical awards.
The Team awards are as follows:
Ken Johnson Division Champions - Milton Red Sox
Len Andrews Division Champions - Erindale Cardinals
Anson Buck
Trophy (Overall Champions) - Erindale Cardinals
Barry Dobson Trophy (Playoff Champions) - Milton Red Sox
And
the Individual Statistical Awards:
League Batting Champion - Evan Baglieri, Niagara (.470)
League Home Run Champ - Chris Novia, Erindale (10)
Notes: The Metros' Baglieri made it two consecutive league batting titles for the Niagara club with
his .470 mark in 2011. Dave Davidson led the league in 2010 with a .516 average, but prior to that it was 22 years
between Batting titles for the Metros (the previous winner being Lance Bell in 1989). Baglieri's numbers were outstanding,
as he posted his .470 average based on a 39 for 83 line (100 Plate Apps). He also led the team in doubles, home
runs, total bases, RBI's, On Base Pct., Slug. Pct., and O.P.S.
Novia won his
first league HR title, edging out Baglieri 10 to 9 (Baglieri hit 15 HR's on the year, but 6 were in tourneys and
playoffs). The 10 HR's tied for the third-highest total in league history.
Congratulations to all
of the winners...especially to the Milton Red Sox, who won both the Johnson Division and the League Playoff titles in 2011.
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The league also announced the finalists in the voting for the other major individual year-end awards. These award
winners will be announced at the league's year-end banquet. More on that in a bit.
So without further adieu,
here are the finalists for the C.O.M.B.L. awards for 2011, listed in alphabetical order:
Most Valuable Player:
Evan Baglieri, Niagara; Jamie Smith, Mississauga; Tim Sogan, Glanbrook.
Pitcher of the Year: James Byrnes,
Mississauga; Chris Cooney, Glanbrook; Geoff Strong, Niagara.
Rookie of the Year: James Byrnes, Mississauga; Ricky Ferri, Niagara; Dusty Roskam, Milton.
Bill Graham "Iron Man" Award: Justin Czorny,
Glanbrook; Kevin Lee, Oakville; Vic Speciale, Brampton.
Sportsman of the Year: Carlos D'Costa, Milton; John DeWolfe,
Erindale; Vic Speciale, Brampton.
Playoff Most Valuable Player: Sean Mathe, Milton; Mark Tourangeau, Oakville.
The league also hands out an Executive of the Year award, but there are no nominees for the award, just an announced
winner at the banquet. Also, the league execs have voted for their respective Division Year-End All-Star teams, and
they will also be announced at the banquet.
Speaking of the banquet, we have all of the details of "where
and when", so you can circle your calendars. This year's event takes place at the King's Court Banquet Center,
1159 King Road, in Burlington. It will take place on Thursday, October 27. The cash bar will open at 6:00, and
an all-you-can-eat roast beef buffet will be served at 7:15. The awards ceremony will follow, at roughly 8:15, wrapping
up around 9:30. It has traditionally been one of the highlights of the C.O.M.B.L. season, and this year will be no exception.
All league players should try to make plans to be there. We'll post a reminder notice, closer to the event
date.
That's it for now, except to congratulate all of the winners and all of the nominees...especially Metros'
Baglieri, Strong and Ferri. They all had great seasons, and deserve the recognition they have received with their
award nominations.
Talk to you next week.
10:56 am | link
|
|
. 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 our Showcase Film for 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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