Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
Looking for their first win of the 2026 OCAA men’s baseball season, the Sault College Cougars welcomed the St. Clair Saints to Sinclair Yards in Sault Ste. Marie for a three-game weekend set on September 26 and 27.
The Saints entered the weekend looking to build on their season while the Cougars continued their search for their first victory of the campaign.
St. Clair would take the opening two games on Saturday before completing the three-game sweep Sunday morning.
Saints Take Game One
The opening game saw St. Clair establish an early lead, scoring three times in the third inning.
Mylo Wasilef opened the scoring with an RBI single that brought home Ryan Querbach.
The Saints added two more runs later in the inning when Kohan Merritt reached first on an error. James Casey and Wasilef came around to score, putting St. Clair ahead 3-0.
The Saints added another run in the fourth when Querbach scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.
St. Clair extended its advantage in the seventh inning. Merritt’s sacrifice fly brought Wasilef home before Kanaan Gale followed with an RBI single, scoring Erick Arosemena.
The Cougars responded in the bottom half of the seventh.
Ben Weatherbee doubled to drive in Cayson Scotland, putting Sault College on the board. Weatherbee later scored on a wild pitch, bringing the Cougars within four.
The Saints held on for a 6-2 victory in the opener.
For St. Clair, Brady Knelsen worked the game, facing 24 batters and throwing 102 pitches, including 65 strikes.
Sault College used Brennan West and Frankie Buda on the mound. West faced 26 batters and threw 94 pitches, with 63 strikes, while Buda faced six batters and threw 20 pitches, including 11 strikes.
Saints Break Game Two Open Early
The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader proved to be a difficult outing for the Cougars as St. Clair’s offence produced a big early inning.
The Saints opened the scoring in the second when Aaron Schweyer delivered an RBI single, bringing home Andrew Sleiman.
St. Clair added three more runs in the inning. Wasilef reached on a fielder’s choice, Merritt grounded out with an RBI and Arosemena followed with another run-scoring single to give the Saints a 4-0 advantage.
St. Clair continued to add to its lead in the third.
Wasilef drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 5-0 before Merritt delivered a two-run single. Arosemena then added another RBI single, followed by a run-scoring single from Gale.
The Saints took advantage of an error to add two more runs, before a sacrifice fly from Querbach brought the score to 12-0.
St. Clair continued to extend the lead in the fourth and fifth innings.
Arosemena doubled home Evan Schweyer in the fourth, while Aaron Schweyer tripled home Logan McCandless in the fifth.
Evan Schweyer then singled to score Aaron Schweyer, making it 15-0.
The Saints went on to take the second game of the day, giving St. Clair a two-game lead in the weekend series.
Cougars Show Fight in Sunday Finale
The final game of the weekend took place Sunday morning, with the Cougars looking to close the weekend on a positive note.
St. Clair again opened the scoring, putting three runs on the board in the second inning.
Kohan Merritt delivered a three-run double, scoring James Casey, Evan Schweyer and Tanner Luker to give the Saints an early 3-0 advantage.
St. Clair added two more runs in the third. Andrew Sleiman’s sacrifice fly brought home Kanaan Gale before Quintin McEwan singled home Nick McMillan.
The Cougars responded in the bottom of the third.
Kolton Tremblay singled to left field to drive in Tyler Caruso, bringing Sault College onto the scoreboard at 5-1.
The Saints restored their five-run advantage in the fourth when Ryan Querbach launched a two-run home run to centre field, scoring Merritt.
Another St. Clair run followed after an error, making it 8-1.
Sault College again battled back in the bottom of the fourth.
Tyler Caruso doubled to drive in Michael Starzomski before Brooks Aylward followed with a two-run single, bringing Caruso and Olavi Ojanpera home.
The Cougars had cut the deficit to 8-4 and created some momentum heading into the later innings.
St. Clair, however, responded with another offensive push in the seventh.
Merritt doubled home Evan Schweyer before Querbach hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot that scored Merritt.
Sleiman then tripled to centre field to bring home McMillan, while Schweyer doubled to score Sleiman and complete the Saints’ scoring.
St. Clair went on to secure a 13-4 victory and complete the three-game sweep.
Finn Pace and Laurence Aurelio shared the pitching duties for St. Clair. Pace faced 21 batters and threw 73 pitches, including 36 strikes, while Aurelio faced eight batters and threw 35 pitches, with 18 strikes.
Sault College used Gabriel Eichmann, John Gignac and Tremblay on the mound. Eichmann faced 24 batters and threw 81 pitches, including 40 strikes. Gignac faced 15 batters and threw 52 pitches, with 29 strikes, while Tremblay faced eight batters and threw 17 pitches.
Cougars Head South
With the three-game weekend now complete, the Sault College Cougars will turn their attention to their next OCAA baseball road trip.
Sault College will head south on October 3 and 4 to take on the Fanshawe Falcons in OCAA men’s baseball action.
The Cougars will continue their pursuit of their first victory of the 2026 season when they return to the diamond against Fanshawe.
