C/O McMaster sports
With qualification success, the men’s varsity baseball team will head into the OUA championships with quite a dramatic week behind them.
Written October 28th
During the weekend of Oct. 9 to Oct. 10, the Marauders Men’s Baseball team went against the Brock Badgers and the Guelph Gryphons in the Ontario University Athletics qualifiers for the final tournament that took place in Ajax just a week later.
The games in the Oakes Park Stadium did not get off to a great start. In their first game against the Brock Badgers, the Marauders fell to a loss of 4 to 1. Although this was not the perfect start, the qualifiers are based on a round-robin system, hence the Marauders still had a chance of making it to the final tournament.
Shortly after the first game, just about five hours later, the Marauders played against the Guelph Gryphons and had the chance to fix their round robin record, which would give them a chance of being the top seed within the tournament. However, the second game proved to be a very distressing one for all involved.
Midway through the game, in a routine fly ball, two McMaster players accidentally collided at one of the bases, causing severe injuries to both involved. Luckily for them, the coach of the Gryphons is a firefighter, while the cameraman who was present at the game is a paramedic. The coach and cameraman immediately rushed to the scene and helped the ones affected until the ambulance arrived approximately 20 minutes later.
As the ambulance arrived and the players were stretched off the field, the truck got stuck on the muddy field, causing the wheels to spin in place. Although a very troublesome predicament, varsity players from both universities collaborated to try to remove the truck from where it was stuck, making for a very unique moment in varsity history.
It was as if all the rivalries were set aside between the teams. As the Marauders scrambled to push the truck away, the Gryphons rushed to help their rivals out to get the truck moving. Eventually, the truck was freed and the ambulance made its way to the hospital.
This isn’t the first time a dangerous incident has happened during a game between the Gryphons and Marauders. In 2019, a McMaster assistant coach had a heart attack during batting practice, while the same coach for the Gryphons performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the assistant for 25 minutes until the ambulance arrived.
The game ended with a loss for the Marauders, ending at 12 to 0., However, this was not the most distressing part of the day. Ryan Clark, a longtime baseball team veteran, expressed the team's distress over the events that occurred during the game and how it affected them throughout.
“We were all really shocked by the whole series of events. That was the moment we realized that baseball is second and the health of our teammates [is] the priority. As the game continued, we were still all in shock so we didn't finish off well,” explained Clark.
After the two consecutive losses, the Marauders had to play the semifinals against the Gryphons again, but this time they had newfound motivation.
“Just before our next game in the semifinals we spoke to each other and called for focus. We knew that we were the best team there and we wanted to prove it. We wanted to play for our players and to win the whole qualifier for them,” said Clark.
This new motivation helped the Marauders significantly.. Just one day after the incident, the Marauders came out on top against the Gryphons, with a 10 to 8 win. This meant that the Marauders made it to the finals of the qualifier, where they were to play against the Brock Badgers.
In the final game against the Badgers, the Marauders did the unthinkable. After losing their first two games, the Marauders beat the Badgers 9 to 4 in the finals of the qualifiers, meaning that they officially qualified for the Ontario University Athletics championships of Oct. 17.
When asked for final thoughts regarding the entire comeback, Clark said he knew this would happen.
“After beating [the Brock Badgers], we proved that we were the best team there. It is something that we knew from the very first moment and to actually finish off the qualifiers in first place, it was a job well done. We are now looking towards the championship in a week where we are confident that we will [again] do well,” explained Clark.
The OUA Men's Baseball Championship took place on Sunday, Oct. 17 in Ajax Sportsplex and involved four different teams around Ontario battling for first place. McMaster’s first game was against the Carleton Ravens at 11:00 am.
By Jovan Popovic, Staff Writer
McMaster’s baseball team had an outstanding 2019 season. With a great regular season record of 12-6-0, the team entered the Ontario University Athletics tournament with the 10th seed, but ultimately lost in the semi-finals in a 10 to seven loss to the eventual tournament champions, the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks. Despite the loss, the team had many bright spots throughout the year, the most obvious being the much improved play of center fielder, Nik Motruk.
Motruk broke out this past school year, being a co-recipient of the OUA’s most valuable player award, and also being recognized as the OUA’s most valuable hitter. The fourth year mechanical engineering student led the team in his monstrous comeback year, hitting at a .581 average. Motruk, who had been a pitcher before an injury during the 2018-2019 school year, made the seamless transition to a full-time player this season, proving his value to the team no matter his position.
“Near the end of the 2018 campaign I suffered a shoulder injury which set me back, and I have not been able to pitch since,” said Motruk. “I played the field growing up and was a good hitter, but I knew that I really had to step up my game if I wanted to keep playing. I worked really hard on my swing to help take me to the next level, and it ultimately resulted in the season I had this year.”
Nikolas Motruk - Baseball
Nikolas Motruk (18)
Converting from the pitcher’s mound to the outfield could be one of the possible reasons for his breakout season. Realizing that you can’t play the position you’ve played your whole life can be really difficult, especially when the next closest alternative is so different. Motruk was able to convert this nervousness into energy and motivation, knowing he had to work harder and find new ways to succeed if he wanted to keep his important role on the team.
Having a pitcher’s mindset in the batter's box can actually be quite beneficial. One of the biggest aspects of hitting is knowing what to expect. When pitching at a competitive level, it’s helpful to be able to think like the guy you’re facing.
Knowing what is coming can be a huge benefit — just ask the 2017 world series champion Houston Astros.
Despite literally having an MVP season, Motruk isn’t satisfied yet and is hungry for more. The team’s success is the highest priority for him, and despite a great season, his sights are set on what the team can accomplish in the future.
“Baseball is a game of numbers and statistics,” said Motruk, “and I may have had a standout season this year, but at the end of the day the only stat that really matters is the W or L on the scorecard. Baseball is not an individual sport and it can't be won alone. I am really proud of everything that I accomplished this year but more importantly what we accomplished as a team and I look forward to seeing what is in store for McMaster Baseball moving forward.”
The biggest standout stat for the reigning co-MVP this season was his astronomically high batting average, sitting at .581. Contact hitting is integral to a strong hitter and is defined by a player who rarely strikes out. Naturally, contact hitting is.a huge and critical part of Motruk’s game, especially knowing that once you can pick up hits, everything else comes naturally over time.
“Contact hitting has always been the main focus,” said Motruk. “Hitting for power comes as you get bigger, stronger and start to face better pitching. Getting the ball in play and finding the holes will result in base hits, and sometimes they turn into extra base hits. This year I had 25 hits, 12 of which were for extra bases, but it all starts with putting the ball in play.”
In an age where contact hitting is becoming less and less appreciated, Motruk understands that it is critical for success. With good bat control and pitch timing, it gets easier and easier to find pockets of green in the outfield, which frequently turn into extra bases.
Being a mechanical engineering student who took a co-op year, Motruk still has two years of eligibility with the team despite being in fourth year. The upcoming seasons will undoubtedly be exciting ones for the team with such promising players in their prime upper years.
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