Expos finish the regular season above .500 for the first time in seven years

The Sherbrooke Expos concluded the Ligue de Baseball Majeur du Québec (LBMQ) shortened season with a third place finish in the B45 division after a 7-4 win over the Shawinigan Cascades Sunday evening.
The Expos claimed their first positive regular season record since 2013, ending with eight wins and seven losses. The sound victory over the Cascades is also redemption of sorts after Shawinigan dispatched Sherbrooke handedly 21-3 last week.
“We’re really happy with the season we just had, this is a real improvement from the last few seasons,” Expos manager Bruno Laurin said, adding that the team feels confident going into the playoffs against any team in the league.
Jared Kersh was a major factor in the match, hitting two doubles and bringing in three scoring runs. The Cascades jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Expos didn’t bow down this time. They responded with four runs in the bottom of the first inning.
“[Kersh] stood out, he’s a really professional player and he’s there to work hard,” said Laurin, explaining that the Expos standout joined the team at the beginning of August.
Claudio Ortiz threw the entire match – seven innings – and won. He allowed only five hits and gave up seven bases on balls to the visitors. Pitching has been a strong point for Sherbrooke all season, according to Laurin.
“Our pitching was really great, Ortiz and also Samuel Greene, they had really strong starts lately,” said Laurin. “Greene I think in his last three starts he gave up something like five or six runs, so this is a good start when you’re trying to win ball games.”
However, the Expos failed to convert on Friday evening when they faced the Coaticook Big Bill. Coaticook triumphed over Sherbrooke after they pushed the game into overtime with a solo run at the top of the sixth inning.
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