The 78e LBJÉQ season takes off on Friday and, for both the Quebec Diamants and the Charlesbourg Alouettes, it is an opportunity to forget the cruel end of the last two campaigns in junior baseball.
Last fall, the Diamonds lost in the most heartbreaking way possible during the seventh and final game of the final against the Dukes of Longueuil.
For their part, it was a year earlier that the Alouettes had suffered exactly the same fate in the final.
“I still remember that we had played 21 games in the playoffs out of a possible 22. Sometimes, I still wake up at night thinking about it,” sighed Vincent Dantinne, 22-year veteran of the Alouettes, club which wants a first championship since 2013.
“There was the glorious era of the Alouettes at the end of the 1990s, but we too are trying to write our history,” he continued.
Clear objective
Among the Diamonds, the memories of desolation from the end of the last season are still very present and we must now use them as motivation.
“I still feel a big pain in my heart when I see my 22-year-old brothers crying again, except that it’s fuel. The objective here never changes and it’s the big trophy at the end of the year,” noted ace gunner Mathieu Deschênes.
New kernel
In his third year as Alouettes manager, Kevin Denis-Fortier believes his team will have a different look.
“We wanted to rebuild the core of players and develop a better sense of belonging. It has become easier to attract players since the renovations at Henri-Casault Park. We have a young core without big power hitters, but we are going to play good basic baseball,” he said.
For his part, the manager of the Diamants, Raphaël Prémont, sees himself in a similar situation.
“We lost big pieces, but I am filled with enthusiasm. We won’t be the team that hits the hardest and throws the hardest, but we’ll still be tough by placing our balls well. We still have four guys in our pitching rotation who stand out,” he said, citing Mathieu Deschênes, William St-Pierre, Alexis Hurens and Brandon Métivier.
The Diamonds begin their season Saturday in Laval, while the Alouettes will be in Jonquière.
A tournament in Charlesbourg
The LBJÉQ is not making any major changes this season, other than returning to the old series format where a team cannot choose its opponent.
The most notable addition represents a mid-season tournament which will take place from June 27 to 30 in Longueuil, LaSalle, Montreal and Charlesbourg. Henri-Casault Park will be the scene of the semi-final and the final on June 30.
“We wanted to allow our young people who leave at the end of the season to experience something special,” said the president of the circuit, Rodger Brulotte.
2024-05-14 21:32:15
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