TROIS-RIVIERES, QUE – Alessandro Perreault and Aidan Grskovic each had three hits as McGill halted UQTR's 14-game win streak with a wild 14-4 victory in a doubleheader nightcap to even the Quebec University Baseball League Championship Series at 1-1, Thursday, at Stade Quillorama.
 
Earlier, in Game 1, UQTR rallied with a late three-run homer to regiater an 8-6 victory in the series opener. Game 3 is set to be played in Montreal on Saturday. This series had been slated to start on Oct. 20 but has been plagued by rain that caused two weekends of postponements and more rain is forecast for this weekend.  
 
McGill, paced by a 13-hit onslaught, led 4-3 after the first inning, 9-3 after two and 12-4 after three. The Redbirds added one run in each of the final two innings. Despite frosty temperatures hovering around 6 degrees Celsius, the Redbirds played errorless ball, compared to six miscues charged to the top-seeded Patriotes.
 
Perreault, a management sophomore from Montreal, went 3-for-4 from the No. 5 spot in the batting order with three runs scored and a pair of RBIs.
 
"Literally up until tonight's game, he was in a big slump for the last half of the season and he snapped out of it at just the right time," said first-year head coach and field manager Chris Haddad, a former catcher with the team. "I think having that three-week break kind of reset his mind back to what he was really good at, which was seeing pitches real well and putting good swings on the ball, instead of trying to force a hit and do too much at the plate."
 
Perreault's partner in crime was Grskovic, the junior first baseman from Katonah, N.Y., who batted second and went 3-for-5, scored twice and knocked in a run.
 
"Grskovic was also a key factor in our win tonight, working every single count deep into all of his at bats and swinging at the pitches he needed to," Haddad said. "That was our game plan as a team, to let the pitcher throw as much as possible, work the count and he did it to a T."
 
Other multi-hit batters for McGill were centrefielder Jett Jarvis (2/5, 2 runs) of Wyoming, Ont., and designated-hitter Alistair Mitchell (2/4, two runs, two RBIs) of Chelsea, Que.
 
Three McGill pitchers combined to toss a four-hitter, striking out seven, while walking six and hitting four. Righty Marcus Dela Cruz, a sophomore from Milton, Ont., started and was relieved in the third inning by Eugene Lee, who was credited with his first career victory. In 2.1 innings, the junior from Seoul, Korea, struck out seven batters, allowed one hit and had one hit batsman. Caden Welch of Langley, B.C., pitched the final inning, striking out the side.
 
Pats starter Jeffrey Dupont, one of four pitchers used by UQTR, failed to get out of the first inning. He allowed five hits, four runs (one earned) and struck out two. Emilien Plouffe relieved Dupont for the final out of the first inning and was saddled with the loss.
 
Haddad noted that after sweeping Concordia in the semifinals on Oct. 14, his troops had some good practices over the next two weeks but things became much more of a hurdle when the weather suddenly turned and the city closed up all the baseball fields, which made daily practices a difficult challenge.
 
"Last week it was just too cold and we had no proper field, so I rented out a sandlot to do a bit of training, because I've worked there and know the owner. At least we had a facility to train at and we also did a lot of hitting at our indoor pop-up batting cage (in the mezzanine behind the basketball stands of Love Competition Hall). Our pitchers also threw on the side, so we kept active but were not able to have any (infield or outfield) practices for the past week."
 
The rubber match to decide the Quebec league championship is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday at Parc Giuseppe-Garibaldi  in St. Leonard, Que. 
 
BOXSCORE
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
WEBSITE:www.mcgillathletics.ca
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca