While March marks the second half of the winter semester for most students, those who love baseball know that March means that college baseball is right around the corner. Although UFV has only had a baseball program for a few seasons now, their short history has shown that fans of the sport will be in for an exciting spring.
At the end of the 2019 regular season, two of the Cascades’ players held three season records in total. Riley Jepson held a batting average of 0.405, making him the most consistent batter in the league. Jepson also held the record for the most homeruns over the course of the season, with six. Dylan Emmons also holds a record, with an Earned Run Average (ERA) of 1.23. This means that Emmons averaged giving up only 1.23 earned runs per game.
Last year, the UFV men’s baseball team started out the season strong, with three wins and one loss in their opening weekend against the Vancouver Island University Mariners. From there, the team went on to have a regular season record of 15-9. With this record, the Cascades seeded in third place heading into the playoffs.
The 2019 playoffs started with a double-elimination round. This means that teams continue to play until they lose two games in the tournament. Although the Cascades lost their first playoff game against the University of Calgary, 7-4, the team went on to win their next four games, against Vancouver Island University, University of Calgary, Prairie Baseball Academy, and Thompson Rivers University, respectively.
With the small four-game playoff streak, the Cascades made it to a best-of-three series against the Okanagan College Coyotes in the finals. For the first two games, the Cascades and the Coyotes each registered wins. The first game went to the Cascades, with a score of 6-4, while the Coyotes won the second, 7-5. Although the first two games were close, the third game saw the Cascades dominate, with a score of 13-2. With the final win, the Cascades were named the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) champions.
With the championship, seven of the Cascades were named as CCBC all-stars. Riley Jepson, Josh Berenbaum, Dylan Merritt, and Dylan Emmons were named to the first team, while Jonah Weisner, Brad Bishop, and Travis McDougall were placed on the second team.
The UFV men’s baseball team is starting to gear up for the 2020 season. Although the schedule has not been released, the season usually starts around the last week of March. Let’s hope the returning champs can repeat their success from last season.
Image: UFV Athletics
Photo: Brody Vogel
