The Metros' 2011 C.O.M.B.L. season ended just over three weeks ago, but the baseball year continues for 5 of the team's members, in the Ontario University Athletic Conference. Three of the players...Ricky Ferri, Kamil Oubayan, and Geordan Dennahower are gettin' it done for Niagara's local O.U.A. team, the Brock Badgers. The other two...pitchers Brandon Beattie and Geoff Strong, are mainstays with the Waterloo Warriors and McMaster Marauders, respectively. In fact, Beattie got the better of three of his teammates this past weekend, as he was on the mound for a 6-3 win over the Badgers in the first game of a doubleheader in Waterloo. The first-place Warriors have won 6 in a row.

And the young lefthander has been one of the main reasons for his team's success. Beattie picked up his 2nd win in as many starts, pitching 5 innings against the defending O.U.A. Champion Brock club in the game 1 win. Brandon allowed 5 hits and just 2 earned runs, while striking out 3 in the game...to lower his season ERA to a miniscule 0.90. In fact, the only Brock player to have much success against Beattie was his Metros' teammate, Geordan Dennahower, who went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

That doesn't mean the other two Metros' players haven't been doing their share for the Badgers thus far, however. Ricky Ferri, who had a great rookie season with Niagara this summer, is keeping up the pace in the fall. He is second on his team with 11 hits, and has compiled a .314 batting average, as the Badgers' leadoff hitter. He also is tied for the O.U.A. lead in runs, with 12. In addition, Kamil Oubayan has collected 5 hits (including a double) in his 17 AB's for a .294 average. And while the Badgers have gotten off to a suggish start, with a conference record of 4-6, we're confident that the boys will get it together, and be there when it counts.

Meanwhile in Hamilton, things haven't gone well for the 1-7 McMaster team, but you can't say the same for Metros' ace Geoff Strong. As usual, Strong has been dominating on the mound in his two starts (although they have both resulted in losses). Over his 11 innings Strong has issued just 4 walks, while striking out 16. And when he's not pitching, Geoff finds himself batting in the 4 hole of the Marauders' lineup. He's hitting .214 (4th on the team) and has a triple among his three hits, while leading the club with 5 walks and his .421 On Base Pct.

By the way, one more Metros' player is making his mark out east. Dan Proctor, the Metros' fine young outfielder is also off to a good start with the Crandall Chargers, of the C.I.B.A. Atlantic Conference. Crandall, a small college located in Moncton, N.B., is out to a 6-2 record and are tied for first place in the conference. And Proctor is certainly doing his part! In addition to hitting .333 in the early going, he has also picked up a win on the mound, striking out 5 in his 3 inning appearance.

The Niagara Metros, of course, would like to wish all 6 of their Canadian University players the best of luck over the remaining portion of their respective seasons.