Haydon Friesen is a Collegiate Baseball League Europe champion.

The former Altona Bisons catcher helped lead the La Rochelle Admirals of France to a 5-2 championship victory over the Saint Boi Falcons of Barcelona, Spain.

"It's always fun to win," shared Friesen.  "We didn't start the tournament the way we would have liked to. We struggled out of the gate kind of looking for our chemistry and we really bonded as a team from day one and gained so much throughout the tournament.  We got stronger and stronger every game and things really came together in our final week in Oousterhout (Netherlands) where we were doing playoffs. We kept rolling and rolling and we were fortunate enough to win in the finals."

In round robin play the Admirals went 5-6-1, winning four of six against the London Cavaliers and losing four of six games to Barcelona.

"It was good competition," explained Friesen.  "A lot of North American ball players who have played college baseball all over the states and then there is aspiring pro players from all across Europe.  It made the competition pretty steep and every game was a battle right down to the end.  In tournament style like that pitching is going to get a little low sometimes but when teams are going, they are going.  It was a challenge every game to get that win."

Friesen noted it was a team game that helped them go undefeated during the playoff tournament.

"We just hit it off right away.  We had no selfish players on our team, we all loved each other.  We essentially became family by the end of the tournament and we really did buy into that team game and doing whatever it takes to win for the team and not necessarily for yourself or your average.  It was just all together as a team to win that final game."

The 22-year-old Altona product stated highlights of the trip included seeing sights each city had to offer, meeting new people and building life long relationships.  

Friesen added bonding with other teams during travel times was also an important part of his experience.

"The experience was amazing. The guys I met were incredible and all the cities were beautiful.  The CBLE themselves treated us very well and if had the opportunity to go back again one day - that would be something I would love to do again.  I had a great time."

Friesen Celebrating CBLE Championship.