Dalhousie baseball falls short of playoffs after a strong regular season

After starting the season on fire, the Dalhousie Tigers missed out on a chance to compete for a championship. 

The Dalhousie University baseball team ended their season with a 9-5 record after starting the season 7-1. 

This resulted in them tying for second place in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball Association. Despite this, they did not clinch a spot in the playoffs because of a head-to-head tiebreaker, with the Tigers having the lowest run differential of the three tying teams. 

Nick Murray, a fourth-year engineering student and infielder for the team, was let down by the abrupt end to the season.

“It was going to be tough to make it in with all the competition,” says Nick Murray. “It’s pretty disappointing not being able to make it to the dance.” 

Murray led the Tigers with a 0.500 batting average this year, and tied for first in the league among batters who played more than three games. Two other Tigers hitters had a batting average over 0.400. 

“I try to keep it as simple as possible up there,” he says. “I don’t like to sit there and look at pitches. I like to swing at the first pitch if it’s there.”

Murray was top five in the league with an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.238 and eight stolen bases.

“I could make a case that I’m definitely one of the top bats up there … I have good speed, so I know I can create chaos on the base paths,” says Murray.

Bryce MacDonald-Wilson, the team’s head coach, says the Tigers’ ability to play together as a unit has been the driving force for their success.

“I’ve never seen a team this bonded together, and it shows on the field,” says MacDonald-Wilson.

Despite missing out on the playoffs, the Tigers had a strong regular season, scoring 96 runs in 14 games, allowing only 84 runs against.

Murray says that the way back to the top starts now.

“We’re going to take the time this fall and winter to get in the gym and stay active indoors, so we can prepare ourselves for next season to make sure we can overcome these highs and lows.”

Alex Horne, a fourth-year civil engineering student and a new pitcher for the team, has always had an interest in playing for the Tigers, but had previously been restricted by school responsibilities.

“I always wanted to play, just never really wanted to sacrifice school,” says Horne. “It’s been a wicked experience [this year].”

Horne returned to the field after recovering from an ACL injury sustained in the summer. He pitched just 3.1 innings during the season and struggled, with a 10.80 ERA. 

He credits the Tigers’ defence with giving him confidence to ease back onto the mound.

“[When] you have total trust in the guys it just makes your job so much easier.”

Horne encourages students to come out and show their support in the coming years.

“It’s the best baseball you’re going to find around here,” says Horne. “Anytime we see students in the stands, it’s just that much more motivation to win.”