BOCA CHICA – The Junior National Team continues to find the ways to be successful down in the Dominican with the pitching staff giving a solid performance and some timely hitting from the offence, and the Canadians were able to hold on for a 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Dominican Summer League Camp.
The offence got things going early in the top of the first inning as Brandon Dailey (Brantford, ON) and Kellin Deglan (Langley, BC) hit back-to-back doubles to bring in the first run of the game and take a 1-0 lead.
The Phillies would respond in the bottom half of the first as a double, followed by a wild pitch put a runner on third with one out. A ground out drove in the runner and tied the game 1-1.
That would be the only run that JNT starter Jesen Dygestile-Therrien (Montreal, QC) would allow over six innings of work. He would allow five hits and four walks over the course of his outing, but was always able to avoid disaster.
Therrien left the game with the lead courtesy of a Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, ON) RBI double in the fourth inning to give the Canadians a 2-1 lead. Pompey would go 2-for-4 in the game.
The Phillies would once again tie it up in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly against reliever Jordan Romano (Markham, ON) to make it 2-2. The run given up by Romano would be unearned as he did not allow a hit in his two innings of relief, allocating only a walk with a strikeout.
The JNT would retake the lead in the top of the eighth. Chayse Marion (Red Deer, AB) drew a leadoff walk a would come around to score on the sacrifice fly from Jerod Bartnik (Surrey, BC) for a 3-2 advantage.
Brian Bardis (St-Constant, QC) came in to close it out in the ninth and after giving up a two-out single, got the final batter to fly out to left to seal the win.
The Junior National Team now makes its way to San Pedro de Macoris for a doubleheader on Sunday, May 23. First up are the Texas Rangers at 10:30 AM, followed by the Toronto Blue Jays at 2:30 PM. Emerson Savage (Bartibog Bridge, NB) and Tom Robson (Ladner, BC) are the scheduled starters on Sunday.
