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September 23, 2017

Xavier Jamieson is a national champion.
The 17-year-old catcher was part of the London Badgers organization which captured the Canadian U-18 Baseball Championships with a 16-11 win over Tecumseh in the gold medal contest. London won it in dramatic fashion by scoring seven times in the final inning.
Jamieson hit .333 in the championship, including a double down the line against PEI in the preliminary round to kick start a seven-run inning against the Islanders.
The Grade 12 honours student at St. Patrick’s Catholic High School in Sarnia has one more year of eligibility with the Badgers before he embarks on his post-secondary education with an eye towards a law degree.
He’s been visiting American schools hoping to get a scholarship south of the border. “Obviously, the US would be pretty sweet,” he says. “But, I’m keeping my options open,” saying he’s more than content to continue his baseball career at a Canadian university.
Jamieson describes himself as a solid defensive catcher, good with his pitcher and a contact hitter.  He wants to work on his arm strength and power during off season workouts with Badger Manager Mike Lumley who played six seasons in the minors in the Detroit Tigers organization from 1988-93.
“He’s probably the best coach I’ve ever had,” says Jamieson.
Everything came together for the Badgers at the national tournament following basically a .500 season playing in both the Southwestern Ontario Senior Baseball League and the Premier Baseball League of Ontario.
“Our baseball maturity definitely grew as the season went on,” says Jamieson.
He feels London should have a good shot at repeating as national champions with all but two players returning.

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