The Junior National Team’s final game of their Dominican tour against the Philadelphia Phillies was rained out and will not be rescheduled. The juniors will return to Canada on Friday and rejoin their respective club teams. They will reunite in August for an exhibition series against the American Junior National Team in Missouri before heading to Mexico for the World Junior Baseball Championship Qualifying Tournament.
The Junior National Team held this game close, but they could not stop the Toronto Blue Jays from capitalizing on their opportunities as the juniors would lose 4-2 in Dominican Summer League action. Corey Pappel of Mississauga, Ontario was solid in his start for the Canadians, pitching three innings and allowing one run on one hit with three walks and four strikeouts. Colin Buckborough of Niagara Falls, Ontario, who took the loss, threw three innings, giving up two runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts in his outing. Ryan Kennedy of Calgary, Alberta allowed one run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts in three innings of relief. Five different players collected hits for the juniors in this game. Chad Stang of Surrey, B.C. went 1-for-3 with a double, Leslie Williams of Scarborough, Ontario went 1-for-3, Carter Bell of Courtenay, B.C. went 1-for-3, Tanner Craswell of Charlottetown, P.E.I. was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored and Jeff Hunt of Cambridge, Ontario went 1-for-1 with an RBI. The juniors were able to score runs in the third and ninth innings, while the Blue Jays scored one in the third inning, two in the fourth inning and one in the seventh inning. The next game for the Junior National Team will be their final contest of their Dominican Tour when they take on the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday at 11 am.
The Junior National Team took a 2-0 lead early in the game, but let the lead slip away late as they lose a heartbreaker to the Colorado Rockies 3-2 in the Dominican. The juniors opened the scoring in the third inning on a double from Carter Bell of Courtenay, B.C. which scored Jordan Wideman of Mississauga, Ontario who reached on an error. Bell went 2-for-2 with the RBI double. The fourth inning saw the Canadians increase their lead off a double from Leslie Williams of Scarborough, Ontario to score Jeff Hunt of Cambridge, Ontario who reached on a single. Williams went 1-for-3 with the RBI double. Brad Furdal of Ancaster, Ontario started the game with a dominating performance. He went three innings, allowing no runs and two hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Nick Fogarty of Thornhill, Ontario came in next and allowed one run on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts in three innings pitched. Cameron Gray of Toronto, Ontario closed out the game and threw three innings, allowing two runs on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Gray was credited with the loss. The Rockies were able to complete their comeback by scoring a run in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Next for the Junior National Team will be a game on Tuesday at 11 am against the Minnesota Twins. Phillippe Aumont of Gatineau, Québec is scheduled to start the game.
This game was a real pitchers duel between the Junior National Team and the Minnesota Twins as the Dominican Summer League matchup would finish to a 0-0 tie. Phillippe Aumont of Gatineau, Québec was dominant on the mound. In three innings of work, Aumont only gave up two hits and no runs. He also struck out six and did not allow a walk. Both Mitch Hodge of Vancouver, B.C. and Evan Hildenbrandt of Abbotsford, B.C. were equally efficient. Hodge allowed only two hits and no runs with one walk and two strikeouts in three innings pitched. Hildenbrandt, who also threw three innings, gave up only two hits and no runs with three walks and two strikeouts. Offensively, Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles. Michael Mutcheson of Morden, Manitoba went 1-for-3 with a single and Marcus Knecht of Toronto, Ontario went 1-for-1 with a double. Both teams combined for 10 hits in the game. Next up for the Junior National Team is a game on Wednesday at 11 am against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Junior National Team went punch for punch in this game, but a three-run second inning was the difference in a 7-5 loss to the Cleveland Indians in Dominican Summer League action. After the juniors took the lead in the top of the second inning off an RBI double from Jeff Hunt of Cambridge, Ontario which scored Carter Bell of Courtenay, B.C., the Indians responded in the bottom of the second with three runs of their own and then matched the Canadians’ offensive output the rest of the way. The juniors scored a run in the third inning, fifth inning and two runs in the eighth inning, only to be mirrored by the Indians. The Canadians generated seven hits from seven different players in this game, the biggest coming from Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. who hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning which tied the game, only to see it slip in the next half inning. Jake Eliopoulos of Newmarket, Ontario started the game and allowed four runs on six hits with three walks and two strikeouts in three innings pitched. Stosh Wawrzasek of Langley, B.C. followed Eliopoulos with a solid effort, going three innings and allowing one run on two hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Evan Grills of Whitby, Ontario, who took the loss, gave up two runs on two hits while surrendering four walks and striking out three in two innings of work. The Junior National Team will play a second game today at 2 pm against the Colorado Rockies. This is a makeup game for the one postponed due to rain on Sunday.
The scheduled Dominican Summer League game between the Junior National Team and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was postponed due to rain. No makeup date has been announced. The juniors are scheduled to face the Cleveland Indians on Monday at 11 am.
The Junior National Team kept it close in the early going of the game one, but let it slip away late as they fell 11-6 to the Seattle Mariners. In the second game, the juniors took the lead in the first inning, but let it slip away in the second inning and could not create any offense the rest of the game and fell 5-1. In the first game, Phillippe Aumont of Gatineau, Québec took the loss after he allowed six runs, four earned, on five hits in four innings pitched. He did however record seven strikeouts and only one walk. Offensively, Jordan Wideman of Mississauga, Ontario produced two of the Canadians’ six runs, going 1-for-2 with a two RBI triple. James Kottaras of Markham, Ontario was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. In the second game, the juniors were only able to generate four hits in the game, two of which came from Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. He was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk. Evan Hildenbrandt of Abbotsford, B.C. started the game and allowed three runs, two earned, on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts in three innings of work. Colin Buckborough of Niagara Falls, Ontario followed and allowed two runs on three hits and struck out five. Leslie Williams of Scarborough, Ontario finished the game and was dominant in his inning pitched, facing the minimum while striking out two. Next up for the Junior National Team in their Dominican Summer League tour will be the Texas Rangers on Saturday at 11 am.
The offense was once again invisible for the Junior National Team as they were only able to muster three hits, and along with the five errors they committed fell to the Texas Rangers 5-2. Michael Mutcheson of Morden, Manitoba produced the only RBI of the game for the Canadians, that coming in the ninth inning. He was 1-for-4 with an RBI double. The other two hits came from Ivan Hartle of North Vancouver, B.C., who went 1-for-3, and Mackenzie Harrison of St. Thomas, Ontario, who was 1-for-1. The other run was scored by Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. in the seventh inning off a wild pitch. Corey Pappel of Mississauga, Ontario took the loss, allowing one unearned run on three hits with five strikeouts in three innings pitched. Daniel Britton-Foster was hit around a little more, giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts in three innings pitched. Ryan Kennedy of Calgary, Alberta closed things up, pitching three innings allowing one run on two hits with a walk and five strikeouts. The five errors committed by the juniors, three by Ivan Hartle, combined with the lack of offense was the downfall for the Canadians. Next for the Junior National Team will be the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Sunday at 11 am.
A six run fourth inning would carry the momentum for the Junior National Team as they would go on to defeat the New York Yankees 11-4 in Dominican Summer League action. The Yankees committed six errors on the day, while their pitchers allowed 14 walks. Nick Fogarty of Thornhill, Ontario got the win for the juniors. He pitched two innings, allowing five hits, one of which being a home run, with a walk and two strikeouts. Starting the game for the Canadians was Brad Furdal of Ancaster, Ontario. He allowed two runs, one earned, with two walks and four strikeouts in three innings of work. Evan Grills of Whitby, Ontario and Stosh Wawrzasek of Langley, B.C. finished the game for the juniors. Grills gave up one run on one hit with one walk and three strikeouts in two innings pitched. Wawrzasek went two innings, allowing only one hit with three strikeouts. Offensively, Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Leslie Williams of Scarborough, Ontario was 3-for-5 with two RBI and Chad Stang of Surrey. B.C. went 2-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBI. The juniors were also aggressive on the base paths as they stole six bases during the game. Next up for the Junior National Team will be a double-header against the Seattle Mariners starting at 11 am Friday.
For Dayle Legros, becoming an umpire was not part of the plan. “It was kind of a fluke accident,” says Mr. Legros. “They needed an umpire for a charity tournament. I umpired all day and I told myself that I’d like to try this.” That moment happened almost 30 years ago and now Mr. Legros will be heading for his first international tournament in August for the World Junior Baseball Qualifying tournament in Mexico. “I’m really excited,” says Mr. Legros. “I’m hoping it will be very competitive.” The St. Catharines, Ontario resident has been an umpire for several National Championships over his career. He has also been an umpire for the now defunct Canadian Baseball League and the North Atlantic League. “I’ve even umpired behind Carlos Delgado,” explains Mr. Legros of the games he was calling the balls and strikes for the now defunct St. Catharines Blue Jays. Mr. Legros received the good news of his trip to Mexico this summer at a bit of an unusual hour. “I got a call at 11 o’clock at night from Eddie (Quinlan, supervisor of umpires for Ontario) that I was selected for an international (tournament),” recalls Mr. Legros. “I was shocked, and a little bit surprised.” For the last 15 seasons, Mr. Legros has been an umpire in the Intercounty Baseball League in Ontario where former Major Leaguer and Senior National Team member Rob Butler plays. Now that his first international experience will soon be here, he remembers what brought on this journey. “I love baseball,” says Mr. Legros. “I also coach high school baseball, which is perfect because it allows me to do some umpiring during the summer, which I love.”
