By Tyler Procyk
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) baseball team finished one of its most memorable Ontario University Athletics (OUA) seasons in team history. It included a perfect game and a nine-game win streak to end the season, but it ended with sights set on next year.
At the heart of the win streak was pitcher Matt Tohana’s perfect game, the first thrown in program history. Tohana’s perfect game, featuring ten strikeouts, came against the York Lions on Sept. 24 that ended up being the third win in a row for the Bold at the time. “Even when we got off to that slow start, I knew in the back of my head that this team was something special,” said Tohana.
“We’re looking for guys who are going to push our returning players”
The team now has back-to-back losses against cross-town rival University of Toronto (U of T) in the regional playoffs. The 11-1 loss that ended TMU’s season on Oct. 9 has players like infielder Thomas Markus ready to come into next year with extra motivation to finally get over the hump, into the OUA Final Four and take the Central Division away from U of T.
“There’s no excuse, we’ve fallen to U of T twice in regional finals,” said Markus. “For next year, it’s Final Four or bust.”
Second-year Alex Guest said the team needs to improve on rising to the occasion and playing better under pressure. Guest hopes to take on a leadership role in the team’s pursuit of an OUA Final Four appearance next year.
Looking back on this season, assistant coach Kevin MacDonald is proud of what the team achieved, but knows they’re capable of more.
“The team has tons of talent. Talent isn’t the problem”
MacDonald lit up over his pitchers’ ability to consistently throw strikes during that stretch run.
“When you have a run like that and everything’s working for every individual player, any team can get dangerous,” said MacDonald. “That’s what was our key, everyone clicked at the right time.”
Another season sent home early by the rival down the street has the team motivated for next year.
“It’s definitely personal. We want to be better than them and it’s always been U of T that’s probably our number one drive of motivation,” said Markus. “Beating those guys and showing people it’s not just U of T’s regional division.”
The squad is losing veterans as they move on from TMU, meaning there will be spots to fill on the team next year. MacDonald said the squad looks for players who can help them in any facet of the game.
“Ultimately, we’re looking for guys who are going to push our returning players and force us to either make room on the roster for them or take an even bigger roster because we can’t turn them away,” said MacDonald.
Tohana hopes to return in the future in some sort of coaching role as the baseball program continues to grow at TMU.
“The team has tons of talent. Talent isn’t the problem,” said Tohana. “This year of experience will definitely benefit the whole team for next year and years to come.”
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