CREDIT: FANSHAWE ATHLETICS
The men's baseball team received the silver medal at the National Championships after falling to the St. Clair Saints with a final game score of 3-2.

From Oct. 26 to 29, the men’s baseball team participated in the National Championships in Oshawa. On the final day of the tournament, the Falcons were set to face the St. Clair Saints in the gold medal game.

The match mimicked last year’s National Championships finals, where the Falcons faced off against the Saints.

However, this time the Falcons fell to the Saints after a close match, which ended with a final score of 3-2.

“I believe we had the team to win it all and keep our title, but we did not execute well enough,” team captain Carlos Arteaga said.

According to an Oct. 30 Fanshawe Athletics Falcons weekly update, with two outs in the seventh inning, Fanshawe scored a run closing the gap to 3-2. However, the Falcons lost the game after a strikeout. Hayden Regnier and Brendan Robertson were named to the tournament all-star team this year.

Earlier last month, the falcons also managed to take home the bronze medal at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Provincial Championship in Windsor. In the semi-finals, the falcons fell to the Humber Hawks with a final game score of 7-6. According to Falcons Weekly, the Fanshawe men’s baseball team has never failed to receive a medal at the OCAA Provincial Championship.

“We work hard on and off the field. Even though we did not win a championship this year, we still tried our hardest,” Arteaga said.

Arteaga, who played shortstop for the team this season, was the recipient of the Gold Glove award for the second year in a row. The Gold Glove award is given to a player that exhibits a great fielding performance throughout the baseball season. In addition, Arteaga won the OCAA batting crown with a .436 average, becoming the first Fanshawe baseball player to achieve this title. He was also named the tournament all-star at the OCAA Provincial Championships.  

“This season was the most balanced the league has ever been since it started. We really had a good shot this season, we had the best odds, but it just didn’t work out,” team captain Zev Weisdorf said.

Arteaga and Weisdorf said that this was their final year playing for the falcons’ men’s baseball team. In addition to all their accomplishments as a team, both Arteaga and Weisdorf stated that they have made many great memories throughout their journey. The most memorable of which are the off-field moments the baseball team shared as a group such as traveling to games on the bus.

Weisdorf explained that he remains hopeful and optimistic about the future of the falcons, stating that they will have a strong program moving forward into the next few years. Weisdorf said the numerous rookies on the team will become returning players next season, and with the help of the coaching staff, hone their skills.

Photos below are courtesy of FANSHAWE ATHLETICS Click on the thumbnails below to view a larger version of each image.