Big Hits and Refined Pitching Lead Diamonds to Victory in LBJEQ Final

The evening started off badly for the locals as the fourth batter of the match, Félix Labonté, hit an offering from young starter Jérémy Dionne over the fence, a slap good for three points.

Fortunately, the Diamonds returned the favor to the Dukes upon their return to bat when catcher Loïc Massé in turn curled a ball over the right field fence with Joey Rousseau and Enrico Roy on the cushions. The crowd, which was extinguished following Labonté’s long ball, immediately returned to cheering on their favorites.

Big hit

Diamants catcher Loïc Massé also stood out offensively with three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs. (Ian Bussieres, The Sun)

“I was looking for a big hit to score points and it gave us back the momentum. It feels good to score a lot of runs like that,” commented Massé after the game which he finished with three hits and four RBIs.

His manager Raphaël Prémont was also satisfied to have won a slightly strange match marked by two errors on each side and not necessarily the image of what his protégés are used to delivering.

“Loïc’s circuit gave us energy at the start of the game and, even if it’s not a great match like what is normally our culture, we are going to take this victory,” explains the manager, who had seen his team had difficulty finding their identity on offense during the previous match.

“We weren’t able to drop the bunt in the first duel, we left tons of runners on base whereas this evening, yes we left some more, but we also made a lot of them score”

— The manager of Les Diamants, Raphaël Prémont

Saint-Pierre miserly

Reliever William Saint-Pierre is congratulated by his manager Raphaël Prémont. (Ian Bussieres, The Sun)

After removing Dionne, a product of the Baseball Academy of Canada (ABC), who had given up five runs, of which only two were earned, in four and two-thirds innings, Prémont relied on colorful reliever William Saint-Pierre to finish the game with an 8-4 lead.

Arriving with a runner on the trails and two outs, the 18-year-old pitcher allowed a walk to Samuel Tremblay and a double good for a run to Jérémy Hernandez-Martel. Then, nothing until the end of the match except a small walk of nothing at all.

“At the beginning, it wasn’t easy, the stress kicked in, but I calmed down. I threw small catches and Loïc helped me calm down,” said the 18-year-old gunner who never goes unnoticed on a mound with his ritual before each throw.

The emulator of Pascual Perez goes far behind the mound and comes back there taking long strides while keeping his legs straight and he celebrates by hopping after a takedown.

“Oh yes! My dance steps! I call it dance moves and I’ve been doing it since I got into junior baseball. It makes me smile and I think it distracts the opponent a little.”

— Pitcher William Saint-Pierre on his ritual before each pitch

His manager was never afraid of seeing his team lose their lead. “When Wil got on board, he was ready, he’s a guy I trust and we had a four-point lead,” continues Prémont.

Three stages

The Diamonds manager also adds that his protégés have no problem playing in three different stadiums in this LBJEQ final.

“We have already played matches at Casault this year, so we are able to adjust and we will certainly not complain because, with its artificial turf, it is one of the most beautiful fields in the league . We have also held a lot of training here, so we know the place well,” he finishes.

The Diamonds will play the third game of the final on Friday evening, 7:30 p.m., at Paul Pratt Park in Longueuil before returning to Stade Canac on Saturday, at 4 p.m., for the fourth duel.

2023-09-13 03:42:39
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