TORONTO- After reaching the final of the inaugural Tournament 12 in 2013, Québec Blue wasn’t about to let victory slip through their hands for the second consecutive year as they defeated BC Orange, 2-1 to bring the title back to le belle province.
Tournament 12, an event hosted by the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Academy, in collaboration with Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar, features the top draft-eligible Canadian baseball players from coast-to-coast over a five-day period at Rogers Centre.
The tournament didn’t off to a great start for Québec Blue as they dropped their first game of the event to Prairies Purple, 10-1, in a lopsided affair, but they found their stride in a hurry with two victories over Alberta Red, while defeating both Ontario clubs to earn a spot in the final.
This morning, Québec Blue’s Jason Tarapasky spun a two-hit shutout and struck out ten in a 4-0 win over Ontario Green in one semi-final, while BC Orange edged Ontario Black, 2-1 getting six solid innings on the mound from Ethan Skuiga in the other semi.
Down by a run in the top of the fifth to BC Orange during this evening’s final, Matthew Chiz Majeur got things going with a leadoff double and later scored the tying run when Luca Portolese came through with a sacrifice fly.
Québec Blue took the lead later in the inning when Jonathan Martin hit a two-out single to centerfield that brought in Sam Chaput with the go ahead run.
After that, it was up to Mathieu Deneault-Gauthier who tossed two shutout innings and Alexis Lavergne who came on for the save that gave Québec Blue the title.
Deneault-Gauthier went four shutout innings in total to earn the win scattering two hits and two walks, while striking out two batters.
BC Orange had opened the scoring in the bottom of the first as Jesse Mycock singled and later scored on a Dakota Curry RBI groundout.
Clark Grisbrook took the loss for BC Orange although turning in a solid performance pitching all seven innings and striking out eight.
For more information on Tournament 12, including rosters, coaches, scores, and stats, please visit bluejays.com/t12.
