Juniors turn in solid effort in win over Cubs

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Boca Chica, DR-Travis Seabrooke (Peterborough, ON) pitched five innings giving up only one run, while striking out five and Gareth Morgan (Toronto, ON) belted a two-run home run as part of a five run fifth inning as the Junior National Team won their first game of the Dominican Summer League Camp 9-2 over the Chicago Cubs.

“I was pleased with today’s game,” said Head Coach Greg Hamilton. “We got hits when we needed to get hits and when they gave us opportunities to score we capitalized.”

The juniors wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Jacob Robson (Windsor, ON) walked to lead-off the game, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Jamar Burnette (Toronto, ON) walked the juniors pulled off a well executed double steal with Robson scoring to jump out in front 1-0.

“You want to have dimension on your team and for us to have some speed at the top of the order is huge,” explained Hamilton. “To be able to do some things before you get into the meat of your order is very important.”

JNT starter Travis Seabrooke was very effective in going five innings and only giving up one run on three hits and two walks. The run came in the fourth with two outs after a walk came around to score on a RBI double.

“He did a great job, had great pace and tempo and threw strikes,” said Hamilton. “He challenged the strike zone and made guy’s swing which is what you want to do when you have a big lead.”

The juniors broke the game open in the third with five runs coming with two out. Sean Ratcliffe (Ajax, ON) was hit by a pitch and Jacob Robson walked which set the stage for Jamar Burnette’s triple that scored both runners.

Burnette later scored on a wild pitch and Kyle Hann (Oakville, ON) walked, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch before Gareth Morgan smacked a two-run homer into the trees beyond the fence in left field. The home run was the first for 16 year-old Morgan in a Canadian uniform.

“There should be many of those in the future it’s just a matter of time,” said Hamilton of Morgan’s blast. “He has an abundance of talent and when he’s aggressive he can do some special things with the bat.”

Seabrooke turned the ball over to newcomer Jason Tarapasky (Pierrefonds, QC) who tossed a scoreless sixth inning after arriving in the Dominican Republic yesterday.

Tarapasky had one strikeout in the inning before Fernando Fernandez (Montréal, QC) took the mound for the seventh and eighth innings giving up one run in the eighth which came on a wild pitch.

Michael Clouthier (Guelph, ON) threw an impressive ninth inning to secure the 9-2 win as he struck out three batters.

Offensively, the juniors had seven hits with Owen Spiwak (Mississauga, ON) and Jesse Hodges (Victoria, BC) each going 2-for-4.

Notes: The juniors will play a double header tomorrow in Boca Chica with the first game set for 11am ET against the Kansas City Royals, while the second half of the double dip will see the juniors take on the Seattle Mariners at 3pm ET…Jake Marks (Brights Grove, ON) is expected to start game 1 and Dayton Dawe (London, ON) will take the mound for game 2. The only way to stay up-to-date is by following Baseball Canada on Twitter (www.twitter.com/baseballcanada).

The Dominican Camp is one of two camps remaining prior to the IBAF 18U World Championship in Seoul, South Korea August 30th-September8th. There will be a Final Camp and exhibition series from August 15th -27th where the final 20-man roster will be selected for the world championship.

Click HERE for roster, schedule and pitching rotation.

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