McFarland: Celebrating the CCBC's best of 2024
The UFV Cascades were the 2024 CCBC champions. Photo: UFV Athletics
*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on May 23. You can read it here.
May 26, 2024
By Joe McFarland
Alberta Dugout Stories
The sun has set on another Canadian College Baseball Conference season.
Like others before it, the eight-week 2024 campaign came and went in what felt like the blink of an eye.
In the end, it was the University of Fraser Valley Cascades claiming their second CCBC World Series championship with a thrilling 10-9 victory over the Okanagan College Coyotes on May 20.
It was a game that featured some solid pitching to go along with a few big innings for hitters, lead changes, a comeback in the bottom of the ninth and a walk-off double from veteran Cascades outfielder Brady Renneberg.
Looking back on the season, many say it will be remembered for how every team seemed capable of winning on any given weekend, which speaks to the parity of the programs across the league.
The talent shined brightly during the season, as highlighted during the CCBC Awards Banquet, held on the opening night of the CCBC Championship Weekend.
AN MVP-CALIBRE FIRST IMPRESSION
The comeback story of the year also turned into an MVP season for Prairie Baseball Academy infielder Owen Lucas.
Earlier in the season, he told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast that he had almost decided to hang up his cleats after struggling through his first collegiate season.
Ready to transition into life without baseball, Lucas played summer baseball back home in Ontario, which reignited his passion for the game.
After a call with PBA head coach Todd Hubka, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound speedster came back to Alberta and made life miserable for opposing pitchers.
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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Owen Lucas here.
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Lucas hit .500 during the first half of the season, and eventually cooled off a bit, landing at .417 to win the league batting title.
He also led the league in hits (45) and was in the top-five with runs scored (26) and stolen bases (12) en route to being named CCBC MVP and Rookie of the Year.
“It’s nice to get recognition for the hard work I put in all year to be where I’m at now,” Lucas said. “I want to add I didn’t run away with the MVP as there were a lot of guys who could have won it over me. There are lots of talented guys in this league.”
Lucas adds it means a lot to be named CCBC MVP, although he would have loved to be talking about a CCBC championship win as well.
GOING OUT ON TOP
Josh Berenbaum has been through a lot as a member of the University of Fraser Valley.
As a freshman, he helped guide the team to its first CCBC championship in 2019.
Then, like the rest of the world, his life was put on hold with the COVID pandemic.
Back for his final season in 2024, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound hurler was bound and determined to play out his senior season as a member of what head coach Riley Jepson believed was the deepest pitching staff the team has ever had.
Helping guide the Cascades to a second-place finish during the regular season, Berenbaum went 3-0 with a 0.28 earned run average in six starts, striking out 40 batters in 32 innings.
For his efforts, the Richmond, B.C. product was named the CCBC Pitcher of the Year as well as the co-winner of the Senior of the Year alongside Okanagan College outfielder Ryan Dousett (Calgary).
He says he was speechless when he heard his name called, with memories of the season and his entire career flashing through his mind.
“It felt good to be recognized for the work I’ve put in over the last few years since making the change from a hitter to a pitcher,” Berenbaum said.
“A lot went into the execution of this season, on and off the field, and I’m just glad I was able to go out and compete every day.”
The right-hander says he took pride in his preparation for games, which he believes helped him execute his plan each night.
SETTING RECORDS STRAIGHT
While the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks pitchers didn’t win any individual awards, they did collectively set a CCBC record for lowest team ERA in league history.
Led by team MVP Halen Knoll, who posted a 2-4 record with a 1.76 ERA, the Hawks posted a final regular season ERA of 2.73.
Six pitchers with at least four appearances (Riley Barrett, Zach Krukewich, Brendan Loeppky, Knoll, Reece Devlin and Matthew Ridsdale) all posted ERAs under 3.00, with Barrett leading the way at 0.35 in four games.
“As a collective, we had the mentality that whoever was on the mound was going to compete and throw strikes in order to give us a chance to win ball games,” said head coach Jake Lanferman. “The amount of pitching depth we had this year allowed us to manage the bullpen well without overusing anyone, which helped us in tight game situations.”
He says the team was better than its 15-15 regular season record showed, as witnessed by its 3-2 mark in the CCBC championships, coming within one win of getting into its first final.
“I’ve been extremely proud of our pitchers’ body language and compete level this entire year and it’s been really fun to watch them success as a whole,” Lanferman said. “Our veterans have done an excellent job of curating the younger players and leading the way by example.”
Not surprisingly, the Hawks pitching staff also allowed the lowest batting average against at .196.
BEST IN SHOW
From an individual perspective, University of Victoria slugger Ryan Deagle led the league in both home runs (6) and runs batted in (29), while Edmonton’s Brayden Morris was the stolen base champion (18).
Not only did Berenbaum win the ERA title, but he also had the lowest WHIP (0.63) among qualifying pitchers, while Okanagan College hurler Teagan Ribbink won the strikeout race with 67 in 49+ innings.
When it comes to team accolades, Prairie Baseball Academy won the team batting title (.279) while Edmonton took home the RBI crown (136) and Okanagan College led the league in stolen bases (56).
Defensively, the top team was the University of Calgary Dinos.
The league also unveiled its All-Conference Teams during the ceremony.
First-Team All-Conference
Second Team All-Conference