Pierrefonds, Que., native Sasha Lagarde (middle) was named MVP of the national champion McGill baseball team at a ceremony on Saturday. Photo: McGill Athletics (file photo)

By Earl Zukerman

McGill Athletics

MONTREAL -- Sasha Lagarde of Pierrefonds, Que., was named most valuable player for the second straight year at the McGill University baseball team's annual awards gala, Saturday, where players, staff and alumni celebrated a fifth consecutive national title, culminated by the presentation of the championship rings. The event was held at the Vargas Steakhouse in downtown Montreal.

Lagarde, a junior majoring in teaching English as a secondary language, merited Tournament MVP honours at the Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association championship last fall. The team captain, Lagarde also received the 1938 Champions Award for leadership. In 15 regular season games, he batted .259, reached base 20 times, scored 11 runs and had 12 RBIs. He got hot in the playoffs and surpassed all those numbers, with a lofty .515 batting average, reaching base 26 times in 10 games, scoring 14 runs and collecting 15 RBIs. He now owns eight championship rings, six of them from different teams and three with McGill.

Infielder Domenic DeFelice, an economics junior from Richmond, Mass., was a double trophy winner. He was named as the team's most improved player and received the Gold Glove Award as most outstanding defensive player. In 37 games overall, he batted .340, had a .433 on-base percentage, scored 26 runs and had 29 RBIs, one shy of the team lead. Defensively, he registered 53 put-outs, a .977 fielding percentage (3 errors on 132 total chances), led the team in assists (76) and ranked second in turning double plays (24).

The team's Silver Slugger Award, presented to the most outstanding hitter, was shared by Jared Kersh of South Salem, N.Y., and Emerson Dohm of Vancouver, B.C. Kersh, an economics junior, reached base 61 times in 35 games overall, scored 24 runs and collected 28 RBIs. Dohm, an economics senior, reached base 57 times in 41 games, scored 19 runs, and had 30 RBIs.

Sam Greene of Philadelphia, Penn., was named as most outstanding pitcher. A strategic management junior, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound right-hander led the team in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched, while posting a 6-2 record in nine starts, with an earned run average of 1.68. He allowed 35 hits in 50 innings of work, striking out 49, walking 27 and hitting five batsmen.

Pitcher Zach Finkelstein, an Arts freshman from Nashua, N.H., merited rookie-of-the-year honours. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound righty appeared in 11 games overall and posted a 2-0 record with a pair of saves and a stingy 0.66 earned run average. In 31.2 innings, he struck out 35, walked 15, two hit batters and allowed 24 hits.

The team's All-Academic Award went to infielder Nick Linton, a management sophomore from Ridgewood, N.J., who has achieved a cumulative 3.91 grade-point average (out of 4) and was named to the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll. He saw duty in 21 games overall and posted a .306 batting average.

Also recognized was team captain Jack Pantalena, an economics senior from Easton, Conn., who received an award presented only on special occasions, for outstanding contribution to the program. It recognizes an individual who shows dedication, perseverance, pride and puts the needs of the team ahead of his own. Aside from contributing to four national championships as a pitcher and outfielder, Pantalena, served on the project team for the baseball squad's Seeds of Change fundraiser. He was also the team representative on the Varsity Council, where he served on the executive as the VP -- Community Outreach, with initiatives designed to help the Cote St. Luc baseball program, the Cummings Centre for seniors and the Sun Youth organization which supports needy families.

Finally, tribute was paid to seven graduating seniors -- six of them pitchers -- who were presented with a framed game jersey. The group included the aforementioned Pantalena, catcher Camden Lawhead (mechanical engineering) of Lakewood, Col., plus Amir McGettrick (economics) of McLean, Va., left-hander Shane Curran (economics) of Vancouver, B.C., Henry Dennis (history) of Scarborough, Ont., southpaw Andre Lagarde (management certificate) of Pierrefonds, Que., and Rocky Hroch (management) of Temecula, Calif., the only one of the group who can boast of five national championship rings.

Among the Redmen alumni on hand for the gala was Allan Bailey, who graduated in 2006 and flew in from Vancouver, B.C., where he serves as general manager of the Vancouver Canadians baseball club, a farm team of the Toronto Blue Jays

Under the guidance of head coach and field manager Casey Auerbach and general manager Jason Starr, the Redmen posted a stellar 34-9-3 record overall, including a 13-3-0 regular season mark in the Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association and a 9-2 post-season run en route to capturing the CCBA crown. They will take a seven-game win streak overall into the 2019 fall schedule. In regular season play, their record win streak, which dated back to 2016, was finally snapped at 28 consecutive victories.

The 2018 championship ring was produced by Jostens. The words "NATIONAL CHAMPIONS" in gold is prominently displayed, framing the McGill Athletics logo. A circle of red ruby stones surround the logo, signifying the team's unity and post-game ritual. The University's home city "Montreal, QC" sits atop the left side. Five red stars highlight the left shank, one for each of the team's five consecutive national championships. A replica of the league's championship trophy stands tall in the centre of the left shank, surrounded by "2018".

The right shank lists the player's name and jersey number, along with McGill's iconic Arts Building, a symbol of being a student-athlete. And finally, one red and one blue perimeter stone highlight the team's diversity and international pride.

Lagarde named MVP as McGill receives championship rings