SANTO DOMINGO, DR- The Junior National Team wrapped up their annual tour through the Dominican Summer League today as they dropped a 5-1 decision to the New York Mets Dominican prospects in the morning before defeating the MLB Prospects 11-4, under the lights at Estadio Quisqueya in front of the several hundred fans.
The Junior National Team went 5-5 during the ten game series.
JNT 11 MLB Prospects 4
Travis Seabrooke (Peterborough, ON) provided the juniors with five shutout innings on the mound striking out seven and only giving up two hits as the juniors took advantage of 14 walks and five errors to earn an 11-4 win.
The prospects jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first after a leadoff walk came around to score on an RBI double, and after a fielder’s choice and stolen base an RBI single brought in the second run of the inning with two out.
With one out in the top of the second, Toby Handley (Whitby, ON) singled up middle then stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Mitchell Bigras (Sarnia, ON) walked to put runners on corners.
Demi Orimoloye (Orleans, ON) then singled to centre to bring in Handley and Bigras scored on an errant throw from the centre fielder to tie the game.
JNT starter Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, ON) settled in the for the second inning recording two strikeouts to open the frame and getting a fielder’s choice after allowing a single and walk.
In the top of the third the juniors loaded the bases with two out and Bigras at the plate with a 1-2 count when the game was delayed by rain.
The 40 minute delay ended Quantrill’s outing and when the game resumed Bigras struck out to end the threat.
The juniors took the lead in the top of the fifth when Lachlan Fontaine (Vancouver, BC) singled to score Owen Spiwak (Mississauga, ON) from second base.
Seabrooke was in cruise control from the get go striking out four consecutive batters from the last out in the third to all three batters he faced in the fourth. He also recorded a perfect frame in the fifth getting a fly-out, strikeout and ground out.
In the seventh, the juniors took advantage of three walks and two errors to put up four runs to go ahead by five with Mitchell Bigras picking up an RBI single and Chris Thibedeau (Dartmouth, NS) hitting a two-run single.
After the juniors made it 8-4 when Toby Handley was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth, the prospects scored two runs in the bottom of the inning when reliever Daniel Procopio (Toronto, ON) allowed a double, triple and RBI single before getting a double play and pop-out to end the inning.
The juniors put the game out of reach in the ninth scoring three runs on four walks and an RBI single from Josh Naylor (Mississauga, ON). Naylor had two hits and scored two runs on the evening.
DSL Mets 5 JNT 1
Earlier today the New York Mets Dominican prospects broke a 1-1 tie with back-to-back triples in the bottom of the fifth as part of a three run inning and went onto a 5-1 victory.
The juniors held a 1-0 lead when Owen Spiwak scored on a throwing error in the top of the third.
Starter Kurtis Horne (Sooke, BC) threw three shutout innings giving up only one hit and one walk, while striking out four batters.
Reliever Brodie Harkness (Bowmanville, ON) took the loss allowing four runs on six hits and walk, while striking out three batters in three innings of work.
After reliever Ben Onyshko (Winnipeg, MB) tossed a scoreless seventh, he gave-up a run on the sac-fly in the eighth which gave the Mets a 5-1 lead.
Notes: The Junior National Team will travel home tomorrow and reassemble June 29th in Toronto where they will work out at Rogers Centre on June 30th and July 1st where they will also be guests of the Toronto Blue Jays on Canada Day as they take on the Detroit Tigers…The team will then travel to Boston, MA on July 2nd where they will play an eight game schedule against teams in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
