Marauders baseball has seen better days

John Bauer

The Silhouette

Hockey fans excluded, there are very few people that enjoy the change of seasons that happens every year around Sept. 22. After a disastrous week of play, you can put the McMaster men's baseball team near the top of the list of autumn loathers.

Coming into the week, the team had been putting in a respectable campaign for a team residing from a school that is not widely known for their baseball program. A combination of strong opponents and defensive breakdowns has left them mired in a seven game losing streak.

The misfortune began with a strange game on Sept. 24 against Waterloo. Mac matched the Warriors in hits, but dropped a 9-3 decision on the strength of two Waterloo home runs and smart base- running. Travis Flint led the way offensively for the Marauders going 3 for 4 with a double, two stolen bases and an RBI.

Sept. 26 brought the Laurier Golden Hawks to the Steel City. Once more, hits were not McMaster's problem, as they put up seven to Laurier's eight. Instead, the Golden Hawks took advantage of eight stolen bases and five walks to take the 7-3 win. Jake Chiaravalle demonstrated the power he is known for with his second triple of the season, while combining with catcher Eric Landry to gun out Laurier runner Callum Murphy at home after an outfield snag for a double pay. Eric Telford and Chris Novachis flexed their muscles with a double each.

Mac's hitting dried up in the first game of the Sept. 28 doubleheader against the same Golden Hawk outfit. The sum of the Maroon's offense was a single by Travis Flint. Laurier ace Brett van Pelt went the distance, tossing ten Ks in the 9-0 shutout.

The second game of the set was a better effort by the Marauders, but they just could not handle the loaded Golden Hawk attack. Travis Flint went 3 for 3 to rocket his batting average into the mid .400s, but his teammates did not fare much better at the dish than in the earlier game. Rookie Eric Landry continued to solidify his position as a key player on the team with a single, a stolen base and two walks.

The afternoon of Sept. 29 meant a trip down the 403 to face the Toronto Varsity Blues. The early game of the doubleheader looked like it would go down to the wire, but it was blown open by a seven run, seventh inning by the Varsity Blues for a 11-3 final. Chiaravalle and Chris Nason hit doubles for Mac, but the team could not overcome six fielding errors.

Game two of the Sunday double header with Toronto resembled the first, but with less McMaster offense. Another six errors led to eight unearned runs in an 11-1 final. Chiaravalle appears to have shaken off the effects of a mid-season slump, going 1-2. Curtis Lee scored McMaster's sole run of the game, taking off from third to steal home as Chiaravalle provided ample distraction with his own steal of second, giving him nine swiped bags on the year.

The Marauders enter the home stretch of the season this week with weekend road doubleheaders against the bottom-feeding Ryerson Rams and the league-leading Brock Badgers.  After a visit to Toronto Oct. 11, they close out the season Oct. 12 with a doubleheader in Guelph against the Gryphons.