For the most part, things have gone perfectly on the pitch and in the park so far this season for defending champs of in St. John’s-based senior leagues.
In St. John’s senior baseball, Challenge Cup men’s soccer and Jubilee Trophy women’s soccer, the 2018 champions were all sitting in first place with undefeated records entering Wednesday night.
The one exception was the St. John’s senior men’s fastpitch league, where the 3Cheers Pub Bud Light Dodgers, who took the title last year, are in second. However, the Kelly’s Pub Molson Bulldogs, who hold top spot, have yet to be beaten this year.
Mind you, there are a lot of games left to be played in all leagues. For example, the St. John’s Molson senior baseball season is less than two weeks old; the defending champion OMT Shamrocks have played only played four games. The Shammies have won them all, including a 5-1 decision over the Storm Wednesday night at St. Pat’s Ball Park, but have yet to do so in runaway fashion; prevailing by one run twice and by two runs once in their other three games.
That’s not the story in Breen’s Jubilee Trophy soccer, where Holy Cross Avalon has steamrolled the opposition so far in the 2019 schedule.
Eight games into their schedule — just two games from the halfway point of their season — the Crusaders are not only 8-0, they have yet to give up a goal, outscoring the opposition 56-0. That’s an average score of 7-0 per game.
To put the dominance into perspective, the 56 goals scored by Holy Cross is 22 more than the league’s other five entries have score in 20 overall games.
Another Red and Gold side — Holy Cross Kirby Group — has also strong in defence of its title in the Johnson Insurance Challenge Cup men’s soccer league, although the Crusaders men haven’t been as reigned quite as ruthlessly as their female counterparts.
Holy Cross is 4-0, outscoring the opposition 9-1 along the way. However, Feildians (4-1-0) and That Pro Look Strikers from Conception Bay South (3-1-1) are right on the Crusaders’ heels in the standings. In fact, with a 9-1 win over winless Paradise North Atlantic Wednesday night at the Dianne Whelan Complex in Paradise, the Double Blues are even with Holy Cross in terms of points, although the defending champions still hold first, having a game in hand.
In Molson St John’s senior softball, the Bulldogs are 6-0 after they look to regain the title they lost last year. Before being knocked out by the Dodgers in the 2018 playoff semifinal round, the Bulldogs had been champions for five straight seasons.
Kelly’s Pub has managed to hold on to first place despite the recent absences of star pitcher Sean Cleary and shortstop Shane Boland, both playing with Team Canada at the world men’s fastpitch championship in the Czech Republic . However, the Dodgers are also missing key players — Jason Hill and Kyle Ezekiel — to the national men’s team, as are the NTV Hitmen (3-3), who have Ryan Boland and Brad Ezekiel, both playing for Canada this week.
The six will also miss the 39th annual Molson St. John's Day Tournament, which begins Friday at Lions Park. All five St. John’s senior teams — The Bigs and the Chayee Bourras Wines Vines are the others — will compete. That means the senior league’s regular schedule won’t resume until next Wednesday.
Twitter: @telysports
