Six members of the St. Clair College Varsity Men's Baseball team were part of the Windsor Selects squad that went undefeated (7-0) and captured a gold medal at the 22U National Championship this past weekend in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Members of the U22 Windsor Selects team: Left to right: Kanaan Gale, Michael Grondin, Brady Knelsen, Andrew Sleiman, Rowan Glasgow and Cameron Beale.
The St. Clair contingent was made up of first-baseman Kanaan Gale (Leamington, ON/Cardinal Carter), left fielder Andrew Sleiman (Leamington, ON/Cardinal Carter) and designated hitter Rowan Glasgow (LaSalle, ON/Sandwich) along with right-handed pitchers Brady Knelsen (Leamington, ON/Leamington), Michael Grondin (Windsor, ON/Riverside) and Tecumseh Thunder pickup Cameron Beale (LaSalle, ON/Sandwich).
Windsor entered the championship tournament as Ontario's number two-ranked team on a Wildcard bid but ran through pool play, besting Prince Edward Island (5-2) on Thursday before dispatching Nova Scotia 2 (7-0) and Nova Scotia 1 (5-4) on Friday. Saturday morning, they topped Ontario 1 (5-3) to finish pool play as the number two seed with a 4-0 record, which required a 4-1 win over host Dartmouth in the quarterfinals later that evening.
On Sunday afternoon, Windsor used a 3-1 semifinal victory over previously undefeated Manitoba to propel themselves into the title game, where they shutout the top team from Nova Scotia (Halifax Metro Mets) 2-0 in front of a partisan crowd. Knelsen pitched a masterful complete game two-hitter and struck out 12 batters while surrendering no walks.
Sleiman batted .294 with three RBI and scored four times in the championship, while Gale contributed four hits and scored three times. Glasgow supplied five hits, including three doubles and a home run that led to three RBI, but also put on a show in the pre-tournament Home Run Derby, where he was a close second place.
Relief appearances were made by Grondin and Beale, who collected a win, while Knelsen's two starts were both standout performances as he struck out 23 batters over 12 1/3 innings pitched.
All players are returning to the Saints this fall except Glasgow, who graduated from the Electrical Techniques program this spring.
"Competing in and winning a national championship is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we couldn't be happier or prouder of our guys," said Tristan Bouchat, the interim head coach of the St. Clair Saints. "It's an experience they will be able to take with them for the rest of their lives."
This group looks to help St. Clair to its fifth straight provincial gold medal this coming fall at their home diamond as the Saints will play host to the OCAA Championship Oct. 16-18 at Lacasse Park in Tecumseh.
St. Clair travels to Waterloo on Aug. 29 for tune-up exhibition games against Wilfrid Laurier University before opening their regular season on the road at Sheridan College in Mississauga on Sept. 6. The Saints will host Lambton College (Sarnia) on Sep. 10 in their regular season home opener at Lacasse Park, with first pitch at 7:00 p.m.
"We're looking forward to them bringing the momentum right into our season and use the experience from the national championship to help the team continue to grow," Bouchat added.
