A strong showing by Canada's pitchers and a balanced attack from its hitters, paced Baseball Canada’s national junior team to an 8-4 win over the Atlanta Braves’ instructional team, today, at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
After right-handers Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Qué.) and Corey Pappel (Mississauga, Ont.) shutout the Braves over the first five innings, Canada exploded for a six-run sixth inning for all the offence they needed to lock-up their first victory in this year’s edition of the Fall Instructional League.
The Canadians took advantage of three errors, one walk and a wild pitch from Atlanta’s pitching staff in the sixth inning. Daniel Reid (Nasonworth, N.B.) got it all started with a single to left-centre before Derek Sinke (Bowen Island, B.C.) reached on an error and Chris Bisson (Ottawa, Ont.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
A groundball from the bat of Marc Bourgeois (Granby, Qué.) was muffed by the Braves’ first baseman and trickled into the outfield to score a pair for a 2-0 Canadian lead. Braden Bauml (Muenster, Sask.) singled to score Bisson, Canada scored on a double steal and the team added another marker on the second error of the inning to make it 5-0.
Mitchell Delaney (Lasalle, Ont.) was then issued a walk to load the bases, setting up back-to-back singles by Leslie Williams (Scarborough, Ont.) and Chad Stang (Surrey, B.C.) to make it 7-0. Canada also scored on a wild-pitch for eighth and final run of the inning.
Atlanta got two runs back in the bottom-half of the inning on a two-run homerun given up by reliever Ryan Kennedy (Calgary, Alta.). Kennedy also gave up the final two runs of the game in the eighth inning although both were unearned.
Aumont was credited with the win after allowing no runs on two hits and five strikeouts over the first three innings. Pappel did not allow a hit over the next two innings, setting up Canada’s big sixth inning. After Kennedy threw three innings, Sinke threw a hitless ninth to close out the game.
Canada got production throughout its line-up as no player had more than one hit or one run scored in the game.
Canada’s next match-up comes against the Cleveland Indians’ instructional club, Thursday at 10 a.m. EST.
