The Charlesbourg Alouettes played catch-up baseball and were never in the game to finally lose 8-4 to the Royal de Repentigny in Game 4 of the Quebec Elite Junior Baseball League Championship Series , Sunday, at Henri-Casault Park.
Freshly returned from the NCAA, where he plays with West Virginia, Louka Daoust of the Royal set the tone for the game by catapulting Nathan Lellouche’s offering to the other side of the fence in the first inning. After two batters, the score was already 2-0.
This slap from the star player seemed to give the visitors a lot of energy, who added two more points, and the Alouettes’ starter’s night of work was over before he could even make three outs.
“They attacked us very early, it’s hard to come back. Viktor [Bergeron du Royal] started a very good game. He kept us off balance the whole game and we didn’t do the little things,” locals head coach Josué Peley explained.
The details
In fact, each time the Alouettes tried to come back from behind, a tile fell on their heads.
In the third inning, reliever Cédric Plante gave up two consecutive free passes, including one with the bases loaded that made it 6-1 despite two outs.
In the next inning, it was the defense’s turn to fumble as second baseman Zachary Houde fumbled a weak ball with two outs giving away the seventh point to the Royal.
Even on offense, details played a decisive role when a pinch runner was taken out attempting to steal, wiping out any chances of coming back up the hill in the sixth inning.
With this poor performance, the Alouettes missed a good chance to push the opponent to the wall and now everything has to start again with a tied series 2-2, in this 4 of 7.
Leadership role
The Alouettes’ veteran center fielder, Samuel Fortier, has every intention of playing his role as point guard. He will have a message to deliver to his teammates before the next duel.
“When they made points, we sort of gave up and I didn’t like that. In that time, you have to bounce back, it’s never over, baseball, ”he says, referring to the letting go of his team in front of the biggest crowd of the season.
► The fifth meeting will be presented on Monday evening in Repentigny. Xavier Boutin will be on the mound against the Royal’s 17-year-old gunner, Étienne Grondin. Both teams will be back in Charlesbourg on Wednesday night for game number six.