Head coaches want nothing more than their teams to come together at the right time, so first-year McGill Redmen baseball Head Coach Jason Starr must feel like the luckiest guy on the field. Fresh off qualifying for Nationals, the Redmen swept the Carleton Ravens to claim the Northern Conference title on Saturday afternoon. McGill will look to ride its momentum into the nation’s capital this weekend as it competes for its second championship in three seasons.

After beginning the year with a 2-5 record, the Redmen looked like a team in transition under the tutelage of a new head coach. Nevertheless, Coach Starr and his team remained positive in light of the slow start.

“Early on we were still trying to find our identity as a team. We weren’t playing bad baseball. We were still trying to gel [and] figure things out,” Starr said. “All of our losses at the beginning of the season were one or two run games. But the guys stayed positive knowing they could play better.”

The positive attitude and confidence paid off in the latter half of the season, as the Redmen reeled off a five-game winning streak after the rough opening to the year. Soon enough, those close losses were turning into close wins. To accomplish this turnaround, the team looked to its veteran leaders.

“[We] have a core group of veteran guys. Players like Adam Gordon, Casey [Auerbach], Josh Gordon, Chris Haddad, LJ [Aguinaga]. These are guys [who] were there in 2010 when we won a National Championship. They’re leaders on and off the field,” Starr said. “There is a lot of leadership in [our] room that helps [our] team through tough times.”

The Redmen finished third in the CIBA Northern Conference, and were matched up against the second-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gee’s in the best-of-three semifinal series. They swept the series and moved on to play Carleton in the finals. While there were a few standout performances, such as Adam Gordon’s offensive production and Elliot Ariganello’s solid starting pitching, the Redmen wins were complete team efforts—a theme at the heart of all their victories throughout the season.

“The great thing about this team is that every game, someone else steps up … a lot of guys do the little things right,” Starr said. “It really is a complete team effort that we have.”

This is Starr’s first season as head coach after serving as an assistant for the previous seven years. He had big shoes to fill, taking over for Ernie D’Alessandro, who manned the McGill clubhouse for 16 years. Starr was not so keen on changing any specific game strategy, but instead tried to instill a drive to succeed from the opening day of training camp.

“I wanted to try and bring intensity. When I play [and] when I coach, I’m a very intense person,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that the guys played smart baseball, but [were] intense. [And] that there is a will to win among our players.”

Intensity likely won’t be an issue at Nationals. Instead, Starr pointed out that executing and doing the little things—bunting, moving runners over, playing solid defence—might make the difference between an early exit and another championship.

“We feel that we need to execute. We know that playoff baseball and Nationals are going be all close games. So it’s going to be the little things,” Starr said. “Guys are going to get hot and hit, pitchers are going to pitch well, and it’s going to be different guys every game [stepping up]. We want to make [opponents] earn everything they get.”

If this Redmen team has proven anything this season, it’s that they won’t shy away from the added pressure of Nationals.

“We have 25 talented players on this team. If the coaching staff can just put them in a chance to win, then they’re going to get the job done more often than not.”

All bets are on them getting it done and adding to the trophy case.

With playoff hopes and pride on the line, the McGill Redmen hosted the Concordia Stingers on Saturday afternoon in their final home game of the regular season at Molson Stadium. Unfortunately, despite an amazing fourth quarter comeback, the McGill Redmen fell just short of the Concordia Stingers 43-40.

Entering the matchup, the Redmen—bearers of a long playoff drought—needed a win to keep their playoff hopes in their own hands. McGill also had a chance to take the lead in the all-time series matchup between the bitter rivals, which stood at 35-35 before the game.

Before the kickoff, receiver and kick returner Yannick Langelier-Vanasse, who has proved throughout the season to be one of McGill’s best offensive weapons, commented on the team’s task at hand.

“We need to execute and focus on the small details. We have a team that can cause a lot of surprises this year, but the players have to believe in what we are capable of doing,” Langelier-Vanasse said.

However, McGill came out stumbling in the first half.  After hitting a 39-yard field goal to open the scoring, the Stingers compiled an uncontested 26-point run, including an 80-yard interception return to start the second quarter.  McGill finally managed to get on the scoreboard with kicker Samy Rassy’s 37-yard field goal. After a team safety cut the Concordia lead to 21, McGill concluded an eight-play drive with a short pass from quarterback Jonathan Collin to running back Sean Murphy for the Redmen’s first touchdown. The half ended with the score 26-12.

Entering the second half, the Redmen needed a spark, and got one in the form of an onside kick. McGill recovered the ball and quickly converted thanks to a 31-yard field goal by Rassy that brought McGill within eleven points. After Concordia grinded out a touchdown to cap a nine-play drive, the Redmen added another field goal to cut the deficit to 15 entering the fourth.

Fifth-year quarterback Ryne Bondy, who replaced starting quarterback Jonathan Collin late in the third quarter, wasn’t going to settle for a loss in his final home game as a Redman. Bondy’s presence awakened the lethal, young offensive duo of Murphy and Langelier-Vanasse, who were largely contained in the first three quarters by the Concordia defence.  A 99-yard drive, which included two 20-plus yard passes to first-year receiver Shaquille Johnson, concluded when Bondy connected with Murphy for his second touchdown of the game to cut the lead to just eight.

After Concordia was only able to score three points off of consecutive interceptions, Bondy redeemed himself by connecting on a 51-yard bomb to a sprinting Johnson for a touchdown. Fellow offensive star Laurent Duvernay-Tardif raved about Johnson, who finished the game with a team-high 186 receiving yards.

“Shaq [Johnson] is someone [who] brings another dimension to our offence with his natural talent. He is a guy [who] is capable of turning a game around in a few seconds by making a big play,” Laurent Duvernay-Tardif said.

On the following McGill possession, Bondy took the ball into the end zone himself, giving McGill its first lead of the game with under a minute to play. However, the lead would be short-lived, as Concordia converted on its final drive via a 19-yard passing touchdown with just 15 seconds remaining, making the score 43-40 in favour of the Stingers.

On the final drive, with playoff hopes on the line, McGill’s last gasp wasn’t enough, and the game came to a heartbreaking end with an incomplete pass.

Despite being all but eliminated from playoff play, the Redmen continue their season on Oct. 20 on the road against Montreal.

The McGill Martlet volleyball team enters its 2012-2013 campaign following an unexpected bronze medal at the CIS Championships last season. The team surged to another bronze medal finish this weekend in the 22nd annual Martlet Invitational at Love Competition Hall. Five teams from across Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritimes joined the Martlets for the latest edition of the tournament.

McGill’s pool-play commenced on Friday afternoon against the Memorial Seahawks. The Martlets breezed through the opener, posting a decisive straight set (29-27, 25-22, 25-20) win over the overwhelmed Seahawks. Both third-year power hitter Geneviève Plante and third-year right side Marie-Christine LaPointe provided all the fire power and defensive stability necessary to ensure the seamless victory. Memorial placed fifth in the tournament overall.

The next match was against the Waterloo Warriors on Friday evening, and it turned out to be a spirited and passionate affair. McGill dominated the beginning of the match and claimed the first set by a score of 25-15. However, in the second, Waterloo took advantage of costly Martlet hitting errors en route to a match-tying 25-22 win. The teams then split the third and fourth sets in similar fashion to set the stage for the first-to-15, deciding fifth set. Leaning heavily on their veteran setter Marcela Mansure for leadership, the Martlets ultimately claimed the game 24-22.

The win earned McGill a place in the semifinals against retuning champions, the Saint Mary’s Huskies. However, the semifinal was a heartbreaker for the Martlets. Despite the reliable setting of Mansure, and stable team defending, McGill seemingly had no answer for the consistent and powerful play of the Huskies. Although the sides split the opening sets, St. Mary’s went on to win the final two sets by the slimmest of 27-25 margins. Despite  the defeat, explosive rookie power hitter Catherine Amyot was a bright spot for the Martlets. Head Coach Rachèle Béliveau weighed in on the new and exciting prospect.

“She is doing really well actually. I know she was a good player, very agile, but for her first time playing at this level she is doing really, really well.” Béliveau said.

After the loss, McGill gathered itself over Saturday evening and prepared for the bronze medal match against the Montreal Carabins.  Historically the thorn in the Martlets’ sides, the Carabins looked off-balance and out-of-whack all weekend, and this carried through the bronze medal game. The Martlets took advantage and were rolling from the start. They led the entire way, and claimed the bronze in three straight sets (27-25, 25-20, 25-17). Sherbrooke defeated St. Mary’s in three sets to win gold.

The Martlets had a productive and strong preseason, amassing two bronze medals and a fourth-place finish over the course of three tournaments. Although the current roster  is very different than the one that won the national bronze—injuries have claimed some starters, forcing others to play different positions—a few familiar faces remain.

“When you have a lot of new faces, not used to the level, it takes a lot of patience. So [I] try to teach them all about the experience, but all the rookies are great and they work really hard, so it makes it easier for us [returning players],” Mansure said.

While her team is talented, Béliveau noted that patience is a priority.

“We’re going to be very competitive in Quebec this year, we’re still going to go for it, but we are also preparing for a longer period of time.”

McGill opens its regular season schedule at the AUS Interlock in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Oct. 26.

In case you spent your week preparing to jump back to Earth from space, here’s what you missed this week in the world of sports…

BASEBALL — Is there anything like October baseball? All four Division Series this year went the distance, and every night featured a different dramatic finish. San Francisco went into Cincinnati facing three elimination games at the Great American Ballpark, but channeled its memories of 2010 to take all three games in Ohio and eliminate the Reds. Speaking of recent champions, the Cardinals brought everyone back to 2011, erasing a 6-0 deficit to win the fifth and deciding game of their series against the Washington Nationals (who really shouldn’t have shut down Stephen Strasburg). In the junior circuit, the Yankees-Orioles series was headlined by the struggles of Alex Rodriguez and his replacement Raul Ibanez. Finally, the Oakland A’s’ magical run came to an end at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. The last three World Series champions will all take part in the League Championship Series, so if you want to root for an underdog, cheer for Detroit.

MEN’S SOCCER — Canada’s quest for the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro continues on Tuesday night as the Red and White play their final game of the third round of CONCACAF qualifying. A win or a draw against Honduras will be enough for the Canadians to progress to the final six or “hexagonal” round for the first time since 1997. Canada is positioned to qualify after a 3-0 victory over Cuba on Friday night at Toronto’s BMO Field. The Cuban team only fielded a squad of 11 players after four players went missing, three of whom were reported to be defecting to the United States.

BOXING — Orlando Cruz, a Puerto Rican featherweight boxer came out last week. The announcement made waves throughout the sporting world as Cruz is the first boxer to come out, and is one of the highest profile athletes ever to do so. Cruz’s announcement is significant, as he is still an active fighter. Other athletes, like former NBA player John Amaechi, have only revealed they were gay after retiring from competition. Cruz fights Jorge Pazos in Florida next week, and a win in the bout could give him a shot at the world title.

BASKETBALL — The NBA’s preseason got up and running this week with teams playing in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The Brooklyn Nets played their first game in the borough, debuting their new uniforms and logos. Of note for Montreal basketball fans: the Toronto Raptors will play the New York Knicks in a preseason game at the Bell Centre on Friday night for the second time in three years. Last time the Knicks came to Montreal, they practiced at McGill’s Love Competition Hall with the Redmen and Martlet basketball teams. Tickets for the game are still available and start from $25.

The McGill Redmen had a  busy Homecoming weekend, facing off against two OUA East division foes. On Friday night, the Redmen’s slow start to the season continued, falling to Ottawa 4-2, and placing them at 0-3-0 on the year. This changed on Saturday night, when McGill (1-3-0) overcame a 2-0 Carleton Ravens lead to win its first game of the season, 6-4.

Carleton (0-1-1) came out firing and scored just 30 seconds into the first period. The Ravens were quick to the puck and strong defensively throughout the first frame. They blocked a number of Redmen shots, and looked like the more determined team. Carleton then scored again 12 minutes into the period, but McGill answered with its own tally just over a minute later, when the puck swung around to third-year defenceman Ryan McKiernan on the weak side, who fired the puck into the net.

The Redmen turned on the heat in the second period, scoring two goals in the first two minutes. Third-year forward Benoit Levesque slapped the puck past Ravens’ netminder Francis Dupuis to tie up the game, while Hugo Laporte continued the fierce attack by deflecting a shot into the net. McGill continued this pace throughout the second frame, creating a number of strong scoring chances. This culminated with another goal off the stick of first-year winger Max Le Sieur, bringing the scoring to 4-2 in favour of McGill.

Head Coach Kelly Nobes was very pleased with McGill’s perseverance, despite the team’s slow start.

“I think it’s a credit to our will and effort level that we chipped away at it and … got the lead back and held it for the rest of the game,” Nobes said.

The third period was definitely more physical, as both teams looked to set the pace. Carleton’s effort was far from over, and they dished out big hits and fired as many point shots as possible against Redmen goaltender Andrew Flemming. However, McGill’s chances paid off, as Jonathan Brunelle scored his third goal of the season, potting home a rebound off of Dupuis, and extending the Redmen lead to 5-2.

However, the large lead was short-lived, as the Ravens answered with two goals of their own, each within two minutes of Brunelle’s tally. Carleton’s intensity picked up, but the Ravens were called for a costly hooking penalty with just 10 minutes to go, giving McGill a powerplay opportunity. McKiernan took advantage and scored his second goal of the game, all but sealing McGill’s 6-4 victory.

Marc-Olivier Vachon, a second-year centre who assisted McGill’s last goal of the game, was happy with the progress the team made from the first period.

“I think we had a slow start but we bounced back pretty well,” Vachon said. “After that 2-0 lead, we pushed the pace and we scored a couple goals, and it was [on] the powerplay where we won the game.”

Two-goal scorer McKiernan was also pleased his team’s effort.

“I think we played Redmen hockey for sixty minutes and we got a good effort from the whole team today, which was really important,” he said.

Moving forward, however, McKiernan made it clear that the team still has a lot of work to do if it wants to become a serious division title contender.

“We are focusing on more cohesion. We are still relatively a young team, but we’re getting there,” he continued. “It’s a process and this is just one step in making things register.”

Coach Nobes noted that the first victory of the year is huge for his young Redmen team.

“Hopefully, it will give us some confidence and belief [for the rest of the season].”

The Redmen play exhibition matches against Harvard and Dartmouth next weekend during their short NCAA tour in the United States, before coming back home to battle Queen’s on Oct. 24.

Since the departure of the Montreal Expos following the 2004 season, baseball fans in this city have had to look elsewhere for their fix of America’s pastime. Most are not Washington Nationals fans, though the team descends from the Expos franchise. I became a fan of the then Anaheim Angels, because of former Expos all-star, and my childhood hero, Vladimir Guerrero. Still faithful to the Halos, despite Big Daddy Vladdy’s departure, my father and I visited Angels Stadium in late August to see the team’s new #27 and MVP candidate, Mike Trout.

Last season, our father-son bonding expedition took us to Camden Yards in Baltimore to see the Angels play. Watching your team play in an opposing stadium is a very different experience from seeing them play at home. You form a connection with your fellow fanatics, but are the minority amongst tens of thousands cheering for the other side.

As we walked into Angels Stadium, something felt astonishingly different. Rather than receiving the dirty looks reserved for the enemy, I blended into the sea of Angels’ red in my vintage Guerrero jersey. The energy of the home crowd consumes you in a way nothing else can. It is powerful enough to make you truly feel at home, even though you might be over 4,000 kilometers away.

We entered through the left field gates, just as the home half of the first inning was about to begin. Though our seats were in the upper deck, we dashed to the standing room area along the third-base line, hoping to get a glimpse of Mike Trout, the Angels’ leadoff hitter.

Using my 6’4” height advantage, I peered over the bodies in front me, not wanting to miss a moment of the action. The rookie centerfielder Trout entered the day leading the American League with a .337 batting average. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Trout hit a frozen rope line drive into the rock pile beyond the centrefield fence. Fireworks erupted from the spot the ball hit, and the stadium went bananas.

The rock pile is Angels’ Stadium distinguishing feature. Complete with erupting geysers and trickling waterfalls, it was built during the stadium’s 1997 renovation, spearheaded by the Walt Disney Company after it became the Angels’ majority owner in 1996.

More significant was the stadium’s conversion back into a baseball-only venue. The facility had been expanded in 1980 to accommodate NFL football, as the Los Angeles Rams shared the playing field before moving to St. Louis in 1994.

The mezzanine bleachers in centrefield were pulled back to expose the San Gabriel and Santa Ana Mountains, providing a beautiful backdrop behind the scoreboard. Two gigantic Angels hats, size 649½, were erected outside the main entrance, welcoming fans to the new ballpark.

Distracted by the subtle beauty and distinct Southern Californian feel Angels’ Stadium exudes, our attention returned to the field in the bottom of the ninth by the Rally Monkey—a legacy of the Angels’ 2002 World Championship. With two men on and one out, Trout laced a single up the middle to even the score at 5-5. Torii Hunter, the very next batter, drove a sacrifice fly to deep center, scoring the winning run from third base.

What remained of the 39,000-person crowd exploded in sync with the fireworks from the rock pile. The halo around the 230-foot tall ‘A’ in the parking lot, illuminated only by an Angels victory, shone more brightly than the moon. Walking out, I felt like I was at home in Los Angeles.