By: Zachary Worden
The Centennial Colts baseball team is off to the OCAA championships for the first time in program history.
In just their second year of OCAA competition, the Colts finished the regular season with an 11-7 record claiming fourth place in the league.
Behind a core of returning players and a strong recruiting class, Centennial improved by leaps and bounds in 2022. The team swept four series throughout the regular season, winning eight more games than in its inaugural season.
“We had such a great recruiting year and it shows the system we put in place is starting to take effect,” said Colts head coach Ben Anderson. “We found a lot of two-way players that could play defense and swing the bat a little bit while still coming out on the mound.
“Adding that depth to our lineup was really beneficial for us.”
Lockdown on the Mound
Colts pitchers finished with the second-lowest team ERA (3.50) in the OCAA, behind strong debut seasons from Liam Oates and Brandon Smith. The duo finished the season as the second and third place finishers among qualified pitchers in ERA.
Oates had the most innings pitched in the league with 36. He only walked nine batters all season while racking up 22 strikeouts with a 1.36 ERA. To add to his strong freshman campaign, he tied for the OCAA lead in wins (5) and threw the first no-hitter in program history against Lambton College on Sep 24.
Smith, meanwhile, picked up four wins of his own in 27 innings of work. The York University transfer finished with a 1.30 ERA with 28 strikeouts and 10 walks in his first season with Centennial. He established himself as one of the top pitchers in the league in his first start of the year, throwing the first complete game shutout in Colts history against Fanshawe College on Sep 11 — a game in which he allowed just four hits and struck out nine.
Veterans Jack Middleton and Rily Post provided some depth in the Colts’ rotation. Middleton threw eight scoreless innings in 2022 and was kept from pitching more often by some arm troubles.
A team captain, Middleton is a part of the graduating class this season at Centennial and will get the chance to help the team compete for its first OCAA medal.
“I’m as excited just as much as you can think,” he said about the upcoming tournament in Windsor. “I know I’ve had some [injury] problems, but I’m hoping I can help out the team in different ways. If I don’t get on the field, I want to help boost them to success.”
Post threw 10.2 innings for Centennial, including a complete game shutout of his own on Sep 17 against Sheridan College, where he struck out seven and gave up just three hits and two walks.
Bats coming alive
Offensively the Colts were led by strong seasons from freshmen Oates, Brandon Turner and Owen Nichols and returning veterans Shoya Hase and Josh Savoie.
Turner led Centennial in hits (20), home runs (3), RBI (12) and total extra-base hits (8) in 2022 and was one of the top overall hitters in the OCAA. He also finished second on the Colts in batting average (.345) on his way to his outstanding debut season.
Oates and Nichols formed one of the top double-play pairings, both offensively and defensively. Both hit over .300 in 2022 and had multiple extra-base hits each. Nichols tied for second on the team in doubles (3) and tied for the lead in triples (2).
Hase was Centennial’s top hitter by average (.422) while reaching base at a .490 clip. The second-year outfielder only struck out four times in 45 at-bats and ended the season among the OCAA leaders in hits, average and on-base percentage.
Putting together a second straight fantastic season was returning catcher Savoie. This year he hit .324 with a .409 OBP. Despite missing some time due to a wrist injury, Savoie was at the heart of Centennial’s order all season long and is a key contributor to the team’s success offensively.
“We’ve got guys that are here and want to play ball,” Coach Anderson said of his squad. “They’re showing up with a positive attitude and the mentality that they’re here to work.”
Looking to Windsor
With the OCAA championships starting on Oct 20, the Colts are preparing for their matchup with the fifth-seeded Durham Lords.
“I’m excited,” Coach Anderson said. “I like how we line with who we have left with our arms. I like how our bats have been producing the last little while. I’m excited to see where it goes.”
With the regular season behind them, the Colts are rolling into Windsor with a cohesiveness that Middleton called “the best [he’s] ever experienced.”
“The guys have gelled well, the skill level is terrific and that’s the reason we are where we are,” he added. “Everything has just been put in place right from the beginning.
“I love being a part of this program and I’m hoping the success we’ve had really pushes Centennial to become one of the top programs in Ontario.”