Last year’s Baseball Canada National Junior Team MVP, Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, Ont.) helped beat his former club yesterday as his Cleveland Indians’ instructional club cruised to an 18-2 win over the Canadian juniors at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.
Weglarz, who only one year ago was driving in runs to help Canada qualify for the 2006 World Junior Championships, was 2-for-4 on the afternoon. The third-round pick of the Cleveland Indians in the 2005 Major League Baseball draft also scored three runs.
Meanwhile, Canada’s offence had difficulty getting into gear, collecting six hits in the game and scoring both of its runs on an error when a ball slipped through the wickets of the Indians’ shortstop in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it an 8-2 ball game.
Collin Buckborough (Niagara Falls, Ont.) was the only Canadian pitcher to have mild success against a potent Indians line-up that banged out 20 hits. The 6’5” right-hander gave up two runs behind four hits and one walk over the first two innings.
Daniel Lazarou (Newmarket, Ont.), Kyle Lotzkar (Delta, B.C.), Leslie Williams (Scarborough, Ont.) and Cameron Gray (Toronto, Ont.) also pitched for Canada.
Carter Bell (Courtenay, B.C.), Chad Stang (Surrey, B.C.), Mitchell Delaney (Lasalle, Ont.), Chris Bisson (Ottawa, Ont.), Philippe Deslisle (Lanoraie, Qué) and Michael Mutcheson (Morden, Man.) collected the Canadian hits. Bell and Deslisle were the run scorers.
Canada’s next match-up comes against the Atlanta Braves’ instructional Club, Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST.
