By Larry Moko
Brett Parker of St. John Henry Newman's Catholic Secondary School baseball team excelled under difficult circumstances Tuesday.
He started the game as the left fielder but unexpectedly was asked to pitch in relief against the Bishop Ryan Celtics.
Newman won the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board season opener, 12-6, at Heritage Park.
"It was a tough spot for him to go in," Newman coach Matt Pritchard said. "That was on me. I wanted to put our catcher in to pitch (in the fifth inning to replace starter Lucas Parkes), but I forgot about the rule where you can't have your catcher pitch in the same game.
"I had already told Brett he would be the starting pitcher in our next game. I had to put him in at the last minute. He wasn't expecting to pitch and wasn't ready to throw."
Parker, who missed all last season due to a broken wrist from playing hockey, threw two shutout innings in his 2025 debut.
"He had a really good game at the plate and on the mound," the coach of the defending champion Cardinals said.
Offensively, Parker drove in three runs with a double and two singles.
"I was a little surprised," Parker said of his mound appearance. "It's kind of a silly rule."
Bishop Ryan got off to a fast start and took a five-run lead into the fifth inning.
"We're not used to winning," Celtics coach Norm Cumming said of his young team which includes six returnees.
"We're coming along, but there's still a ways to go. It's a matter of confidence and believing in themselves."
Newman's Lucas Seabrook, who stroked a triple for the game's first hit, later added a pair of singles and a walk. Teammate Ben Black drove in three runs with a double and a bases loaded walk while Andrew Vooys belted a run-scoring double.
Jacob Sgro's two singles and a sacrifice fly also plated a pair of runs for the Cardinals.
Said Pritchard: "We had a couple of rough innings and got down, 6-1. We showed resilience, though, and never gave up. Everyone chipped in."
Noah Kirilo, Will Clark and Owen Snider each collected a pair of singles in BR's 11-hit attack.
Elsewhere, the St. Thomas More Knights blanked the St. Mary Crusaders, 6-0, and the St. Jean de Brébeuf Braves edged the Bishop Tonnos Titans, 4-3.
Photos by Richard Andoga
More photos on the HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page here
