ANTIGONISH, N.S. — The St. F.X. baseball team will be hosting Acadia for a doubleheader this Saturday (Sept. 21), at the field behind Dr. J.H. Gillis Regional High School.
Opening pitch for game one is 1 p.m.
Baseball is a club sport at the university and is entering its 13th season, with new manager Rob MacKay at the helm.
The team hits the road the following day for games at Holland College. They return to home-field action the following Saturday (Sept. 28) when they host Dalhousie in a doubleheader. Start time is the same 1 p.m. first pitch
“I think we have a pretty good team this year, compared to some previous years,” outfielder Brayden Poirier said, just prior to him and his teammates taking the field for a Sept. 17 practice.
Poirier, from Ottawa, noted a lot of strides were taken last year when the team just missed out on a trip to the nationals.
“We played pretty well,” he said. “It was a good stepping stone for us this year and into the future.”
Teammate Jack Walsh, also from Ottawa, plays shortstop for St. F.X. He talked about the caliber of the league which, along with the four schools already mentioned, also includes St. Mary’s and UNB, which won last season.
“It’s good,” Walsh said. “UNB was really good; they went to the playoff national tournament last year and lost to McGill [University] who is, arguably, the best team in the country. They put up a good fight against those guys.”
Like Poirier, Walsh sees good things for this year’s St.F.X. team, noting they have good pitching and bats in the lineup.
“We definitely have to work out some of the rust as it is the beginning of the season, but we have some new additions who are looking really promising … it should be an exciting year for us,” he said, adding the roster is roughly half veterans and half rookies.
Poirier added that he likes the depth the team has on the mound; always a key to any ball team’s success.
For more on the team, check out their Facebook page; STFX Baseball.
