Ottawa Champions lose finale with 71-year-old Bill Lee as DH
Photo Credit: Ottawa Champions/Twitter
By Graham Neysmith
Ottawa Champions
OTTAWA – Despite the best efforts of DH Bill “Spaceman” Lee, the Ottawa Champions were defeated 9-3 by the Rockland Boulders on Monday afternoon at RCGT Park in their final game of the 2018 season.
Lee went 0-for-3 with a pair of sharp ground outs and a pop out, and was lifted by Champions manager Hal Lanier prior to his fourth plate appearance.
“Today was a good day for the fans and that’s what it was all about,” said Lanier. “I give Bill credit – I wouldn’t want to get up there and swing the bat like that! He had fun and it was good seeing all the other Expos who I hadn’t seen for a long time.”
Rockland jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning when they batted around on RHP Miles Sheehan, who had a rare bad outing. LHP Brad Schaenzer was the starter for the Boulders and got the win.
CF Chase Harris ended the day a home run shy of the cycle with two RBIs. The big performance was special for Harris, as he was playing in front of former big-league all-star Dave Cash, who ran the camp in which Lanier spotted Harris and signed him earlier this year.
LF Sebastien Boucher (Hull, Que.) was also excellent, going 2-for-2. The 36-year-old was taken out of the game to a boisterous ovation from the crowd.
“I just wanted to pay him a compliment and let the fans give him a standing ovation, which they did,” said Lanier of his decision to remove Boucher.
The Champions couldn’t end the season on a high note, but the performance of Lee and the first base coaching of Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd was more than enough to end the 2018 season on a high note.