ORLANDO-The Junior National Team scored five times in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back as they defeated Lake Sumter Junior College 5-2 at ESPN Wide World of Sports.
With the bases loaded in the first, Brett Siddall (Windsor, ON) reached on an error that scored Mitchell Triolo (Scarborough, ON) from third base with the game’s first run. Jesse Hodges (Victoria, BC) kept things going by reaching on a fielder’s choice that scored Nathan DeSouza (Milton, ON) who had previously singled.
Three consecutive RBI singles off the bats of Sean Ratcliffe (Ajax, ON), Daniel Pinero (Toronto, ON) and Damion Smith (Windsor, ON) gave the juniors a five-run lead after one inning.
Jake Marks (Brights Grove, ON), making his JNT debut, started on the mound and gave up two runs in three innings of work.
Marks threw two scoreless frames and had two out in the top of the third inning before giving up a two-run homer to put Lake Sumter on the board. Marks also fanned three batters during his outing.
Steven Dressler took the mound in the top of the fourth and allowed two singles to the first two batters he faced before a line-out and double play ended the threat.
Dressler was perfect in both the fifth and sixth innings and finished his three inning outing only allowing the two singles in the fourth.
Logan Seifrit (Spruce Grove, AB) entered the game in the seventh and picked-up right where Dressler left off keeping Lake Sumter off the scoreboard with three scoreless innings of work.
Seifrit allowed only two hits and struck out five batters in preserving the victory.
Offensively, the juniors recorded nine singles with two coming off the bat of Nathan DeSouza. The juniors left ten runners on base during the game including the bases load in the second inning.
Notes: Dayton Dawe (London, ON) will get the start tomorrow as the juniors face the Washington Nationals at 1pm ET… The Spring Training Camp is an important step in the selection process as 20 players will be chosen in August to represent Canada at the IBAF 18U World Baseball Championship in Seoul, South Korea August 30th- September 8th.
2012 Junior National Team Schedule
Roster
Pitching Rotation
Junior National Team Program Information
