NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Monsignor McCoy Colt Kayne Olinski squares up a ball in the Colts quarterfinals win over Macgrath on May 31.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Monsignor McCoy Colts are playing with house money when it comes to the provincial finals.
The Colts varsity baseball team is looking to play spoiler as they face the Medicine Hat High Hawks in provincial finals action for the second year in a row. Colts head coach Cole Schreiber says they are prepared for the 5:30 p.m. contest at Athletic Park having faced more pressure in the season.
“We’ve dealt with a little bit more adversity this year than they have, I don’t think they played their two best games in the playoffs, they probably weren’t thrilled with that,” Schreiber said. “That just shows you how good of a team they have. Us having lost to LCI early on and then coming back to beat him, we’ve dealt with a little bit of this already, so we’re really looking forward to the opportunity. Hat High is not going to take this game lightly but we have just a little bit extra will to want to beat them this time, having lost to them the first time.
The Hawks beat McCoy 2-0 in 2022 for the provincial championship and took their lone matchup this season, beating the Colts 18-8. McCoy entered the playoffs in second place with a 9-2 record, beating the Macgrath Zeniths 13-5 in the quarter finals on May 31 before coming out on top against the LCI Rams 5-2 on June 1 for their finals berth.
The Colts enter the finals with a younger team than they had last year, with a smaller number of veterans than the Hawks and a lineup the relies on the contribution of its Grade 10 and 11 athletes. Schreiber says he was pleasantly happy with how the young group and older core worked together for the Colts’ success this season.
“Coming into the season I told the guys ahead of the year I expected us to be really strong but I didn’t know how well we would fare against some of the older teams like Hat High, LCI or Chinook,” Schreiber said. “They are a little bit older than us but our older guys really carried us and our young guys surprised a little bit. Definitely thrilled to be where we’re at.”
Caleb Garrett is one of the Colts’ Grade 12 players and was relied upon to pick up the save against LCI. He’s looking at the rematch with Hat High as a chance for redemption from 2022 and says they bring a different approach than that team.
“We’re a lot younger but some of our young guys, we really want to compete as a whole,” Garrecht said. “We just have a lot of guys who want to compete and win.”
Kayne Olisnki, another Grade 12 Colt, has enjoyed playing with this team which will be the last of his high school career. He doesn’t see why the Colts can’t be the team to come out on top tonight, making up for last year’s loss.
“Last year was hard, they’re a good team and they didn’t change at all really,” Olinski said. “We got younger but I think our Grade 10’s can get it done and if we play a good game, we’ve got it.
With the two schools meeting up for the second year in a row, fans from both have had the opportunity to support their classmates and experience that inner-city rivalry. While Schreiber wishes more high school players played on Legion teams, he’s excited to see the stands full at Athletic Park.
“For these kids to still come out and want to play and be able to play for high school baseball, it’s a different feel getting to play for your school team,” Schreiber said. “We’ll see it Wednesday, the fans will probably be out and all the kids at school will be wrapped in their colours. It’ll be exciting and it’s definitely good for the city to showcase our really good teams.”
There’s no secret formula for the Colts as they approach the matchup against the Hawks looking for that perfect season. Schreiber says it will come down to a perfect game from the Colts in red if they want to come out on top.
“We’re going to need our pitchers to go out and do what they do,” Schreiber said. “Our defence has to take care of the ball. I don’t know who we’re getting on their side, who’s pitching to us, but they have about five or six guys they can roll out and feel pretty confident in their chances. So we have to be at our best both physically and mentally. The longer we stay in the game, the better chance we have. If we can get a little bit of a lead early, we can maybe put a little bit of a scare in them and I like our odds.”
