Fitzpatrick: Niagara Ironbacks begin season with statement win
The Niagara Ironbacks began their 2026 Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) season with a 12-5 win over the Niagara Falls Americans on Wednesday. Photo: Trevor Fitzpatrick
June 4, 2026
By Trevor Fitzpatrick
Canadian Baseball Network
On a perfect evening in St. Catharines, Ont., the Niagara Ironbacks got their 2026 Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) campaign off to a roaring start with a statement 12-5 win over the Niagara Falls Americans on Wednesday.
The game was as close as 6-5 in the seventh inning, but four runs by the Ironbacks in the bottom half of that frame proved to be more than enough insurance for the PGCBL’s only Canadian team.
Leading the charge on offence for the crew was Great Lake Canadians alum Michael Gregus (Exeter, Ont.). The Davenport University first baseman had two triples and three RBIs.
“I was just trying to ambush all the strikes I was thrown, and the guys behind me did their job and knocked me in,” he explained.
Where did the burst of speed come from today though?
“It might’ve been because I was hungry,” replied Gregus.
Despite his fantastic effort, it was his teammate Kieran Cutler (Paradise, Nfld.) that took home player of the game honours.
It’s hard to argue with the gameday staff’s judgement, as the McCook Community College catcher crushed the squad’s first home run of the season over the left-centre field wall.
The Ironbacks’ catching depth should be a boon to them this season, as they had three catchers in their starting lineup to fill the DH and EH spots.
Cutler was stationed as the EH, fellow Canadian Futures Showcase alum Connor Gaitens (Tillsonburg, Ont.) was the DH, and actually behind the dish was former Canadian Premier Baseball League Prospect Games participant Josh Bullock (Toronto, Ont.).
“That’s the biggest change from last year, the depth, especially at catcher,” said team manager and baseball lifer Richard Griffin. “Last year we had the North Dakota market cornered. We had a good pipeline of Canadian guys coming from there. We did a good job of expanding this year.”
“We have guys from better conferences this year and some great returners as well,” added new assistant coach Tyson Gomm (Aurora, Ont.).
Former Montreal Expos shortstop and Niagara Falls Americans manager Wil Cordero, left, meets with the umpires and former Expos public relations director and Niagara Ironbacks manager Richard Griffin prior to Wednesday’s season-opening contest in St. Catharines, Ont. Photo: Trevor Fitzpatrick
Some extra bragging rights go Griffin’s way this season as well, as he defeated Niagara Falls Americans coach Wil Cordero in their first coaching matchup of the year.
Cordero played 14 years in the big leagues, was an all-star in 1994 with the Montreal Expos, and has known Griffin since he was first scouted by the legendary Expos talent evaluator Gary Hughes.
The Ironbacks will hope to convert this great start into more wins as they look to improve upon what owner Mal Romanin called their “year zero” last season when they went 10-35.
“I like to think of this as our year one. Slowly but surely we’re going to build this into a nice program,” he said, addressing the players before the season, “We have a lot of talent. It’s important to me that we try to build on last season and show the league what’s coming from Canada.”
Even more reinforcements are coming soon off the injured list as well. Carter Shin (Burlington, Ont.), who was a PGCBL First Team shortstop in 2025 and who set the Gordon College record for hits in a season with 59 is only a couple weeks away from his wrist injury being healed.
When asked what brought him back to the Ironbacks for round two he said, “being around all these guys and meeting new teammates is nice, not having school to worry about so I can focus on baseball is nice, too.”
It’s a quick turnaround for the team, as it always is with their busy PGCBL schedule. They’ll be back for game two of their season on June 5 at 6:30 p.m.