TORRINGTON, CT- The Junior National Team dropped their first decision of the New England Summer Tour as the Torrington Titans scored a run in the fifth inning on a sac-fly and held on for a 1-0 win at Fuessenich Park.
The juniors out-hit the Titans 6-2 but could not take advantage of any scoring opportunities afforded to them.
JNT starter Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, ON) didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning when he gave up a one-out double that landed in left-centre field.
A stolen base put the runner on third which set the table for a sacrifice-fly to centre field that brought in the game’s only run.
Quantrill lasted six innings giving up only the double in the fifth, two walks and one hit batter. He also managed to strikeout eight batters on the evening.
“I felt really good out there, tonight,” said Quantrill. “I had a good feel for all of my pitches and was able to work ahead (of hitters) most of the night.”
Quantrill was extremely effective with his change-up and slider keeping hitter’s off balance by changing speeds.
Dylan Brooks (Dorchester, ON) took the mound for the seventh and eighth frames and turned in an equally stellar performance allowing only one single and one walk, while striking out three.
Brooks walked the first batter he faced in the eighth, but catcher Morgan Lofstrom (Kelowna, BC) fired a strike to second base to nab the runner trying to steal.
“That was a big play from Morgan,” explained Brooks. “After he threw him out, I was able to get back in my groove and go after them.”
In the eighth, Gareth Morgan (Toronto, ON) led-off with a single to left field and Mitchell Bigras (Sarnia, ON) followed with a walk.
Toby Handley (Whitby, ON) pinch ran for Morgan, but was gunned down at third trying to steal where the throw from the catcher beat him to the bag.
Bigras ended up on third after a wild-pitch, but two consecutive fly-outs to the outfield kept him from scoring.
In the ninth with one out, Jordan Schulz (Strasbourg, SK) singled and Chris Thibideau (Dartmouth, ON) picked up his second hit of the game on a bunt single, but the Titans closer shut the door with two strikeouts to preserve the victory.
Jake Lumley (Windsor, ON) and Demi Orimoloye (Orleans, ON) had the other JNT hits on the evening.
Notes: The juniors will travel to Holyoke, MA tomorrow morning and take on the Holyoke Blue Sox at 6:30pm ET. Daniel Procopio (Toronto, ON) is scheduled to start with Kurtis Horne (Sooke, BC) coming on in relief. Please follow @baseballcanada and @team_c_updates on Twitter to stay up-to-date on all the news and in game updates with the Junior National Team while in New England.
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