DUNEDIN- The Toronto Blue Jays prospects scored four runs in the seventh inning as they erased a one-run deficit and added three more in the eighth to defeat the Junior National Team 8-2 at the Bobby Mattick Complex in Dunedin.
The juniors held a 2-1 edge going into the bottom of the seventh before Michael Clouthier (Guelph, ON) ran into control issues as he walked six and hit one batter which led to the Jays runs.
Brock Dykxhoorn (Goderich, ON) gave the juniors a solid start on the mound as he allowed only one hit and a walk, while striking out two in three innings of work.
After four scoreless innings the juniors opened the scoring by plating two runs in the top of the fifth.
Gareth Morgan (Toronto, ON) led off with a walk and after advancing to second on a ground-out, scored on Jesse Hodges’ (Victoria, BC) single.
Hodges moved to second base on a Blue Jays error and later scored when Daniel Pinero (Toronto, ON) singled.
Ryan Kellogg (Whitby, ON) allowed only two hits while tossing scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth before the Jays broke the shutout bid with a run in the sixth.
Kellogg issued two walks, unleashed a wild-pitch and gave-up a single to score the run with nobody out.
With runners on first and second, Kellogg dug deep and got a fly-out and two line-outs to end the inning. Kellogg tossed three innings and gave-up one run on three hits and two walks, while striking out three.
After Clouthier gave up four runs in the seventh to put the Jays in front, Fernando Fernandez (Montréal, QC) came on to pitch the eighth. After walking the first batter he faced, the Jays started to swing the bats as three singles and double produced three runs to make the score 8-2.
Fernandez bounced back after the runs scored and managed two strikeouts.
The juniors left seven runners on base during the game including runners on second and third with two out in the fourth.
In the fourth, Jordan Schulz (Strasbourg, SK) picked up his first of two singles on the day and ended up on third base after a Kyle Hann (Oakville, ON) double. Both runners were left on base after a strikeout.
Jamar Burnette (Toronto, ON) and Chris Shaw (Winnipeg, MB) also singled in the game giving the JNT seven hits on the afternoon.
Notes: The juniors will be back in action tomorrow at ESPN Wide World of Sports when they take on the Atlanta Braves at 1pm ET…It is expected that Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, ON) will start on the mound…Hann’s double in the fourth was the first JNT extra-base hit of the week for the JNT…JNT alums Justin Atkinson (Surrey, BC), Tom Robson (Ladner, BC) and Dalton Pompey (Oakville, ON) are in extended spring training with the Blue Jays…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
