The Erindale Cardinals will open their 2019 campaign when they host the Milton Red Sox on Monday, May 6th at Greg Cranker Field in Mississauga. Cranker will return as the manager this season; his 37th season at the helm of the Cardinals. Tim Gasparotto will return in his 15th year as the GM and head coach of the club.
The Cards had a good season in 2018 as they finished with an overall record of 28 - 19 on the season. They were 17 - 11 in COBA Major League regular season play good for second place overall in the loop. They attended four tournaments during the course of the season. They attended the Vaughan Vikings Invitational where they went 1 - 2 in pool play, the Lakeside Invitational where they went 2 - 1 and narrowly missed out on a playoff spot, the Hap Walters Invitational where they went 3 - 1 making a QF appearance and the Ontario Sr. Elims where they went 2 - 2 bowing out on Saturday evening.
The Cardinals went into the playoffs as the #2 seed and after a tough opening loss to Burlington they rattled off three straight wins over Mississauga SW, Milton, and Etobicoke to earn their way back to the final. In a very well played game, Erindale dropped a heartbreaker 2 - 1 to the same Etobicoke Rangers club they defeated earlier in the day to finish in 2nd place in the COBA Major Baseball League.
Erindale will be returning the core of their roster in 2019 as well as looking to add some new bodies at a later date. Key returnees at the dish include league HR champ Jay Woodford (.361, 39 R, 57 H, 9 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 55 RBI), Chris Novia (.370, 36 R, 50 H, 12 2B, 3B, 9 HR, 44 RBI), Pip Murray-Smith (.362, 53 R, 55 H, 7 2B, 3B, 21 RBI, 28 SB), Aaron Plamer, (.336, 24 R, 46 H, 10 2B, HR, 23 RBI, 18 SB) and John DeWolfe (.290, 36 R, 40 H, 9 2B, HR, 21 RBI.
One the mound, the Cardinals will be led by big lefty Andrew Mullin (8-3, 2 Sv, 62 Inn, 67 H, 28 ER, 52 K, 4.06 ERA) whose numbers earned him a trip to the Sr. National last season with the Ontario Champion Tecumseh Thunder. Brendan Fox (4-1, 51 1/3 Inn, 64 H, 24 ER, 18 K, 4.21 ERA) will also be back in the fold while Dan Estey (4-3, 62 1/3 Inn, 80 H, 36 ER, 42 K, 5.10 ERA) and Kevin Lucas (8-4, 2 Sv, 46 Inn, 37 H, 12 ER, 44 K, 2.35 ERA) will also see some time on the bump.
Erindale will look to improve upon their record from last season heading into this year. They will be attending the Brampton Invitational Tournament as well as returning to the Lakeside, Hap Walters and Sr. Elimination Tournaments on top of their 28 – game COBA Major League regular season schedule and league playoff commitments.
