TORONTO-We’re halfway through Tournament 12 which officially kicked into high gear with the second day of game action that saw Rogers Centre buzzing with talent evaluators, friends and family, and baseball fans on hand to witness six games.
Maritimes Grey, representing Atlantic Canada improved their record to 3-0 with a pair of wins today to become the first of the ten participating teams to book a ticket to the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Here’s a look at today’s action:
Maritimes (Grey) 9 Québec (Blue) 7
In a game that saw both teams combine to walk 20 batters, the team representing Atlantic Canada (Maritimes Grey) eventually prevailed over Québec Blue 9-7. Down 1-0, Québec took advantage of five walks in the second inning to score three runs without recording a hit. Grey responded with three runs in the third and five in the fourth with five of the runs between both innings coming on bases loaded walks. Sebastiano Scalzo drilled a three-run triple as part of a three-run fourth as Québec cut the lead to two. Evan Comeau had a double and scored two runs for Grey, while also making a diving catch at shortstop to end the sixth inning.
Alberta (Red) 9 Prairies (Brown) 4
Brady Porter’s two-run triple highlighted a four-run fourth inning for Alberta as they went onto a 9-4 victory over the Prairies to earn their first win of Tournament 12. Alex Bishop picked-up four RBI’s after being hit by a pitch and walking with the bases loaded before hitting a two-run single in the fourth. Wyatt Schlosser and Reid Fritzke each had a single and a double with Schlosser driving in two runs and Fritzke one. Alberta’s Andrew Grieder earned the win tossing one scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts.
Ontario (Black) 9 BC (Orange) 6
Ontario Black took their first lead of the game in the fifth when Josh Naylor blasted a two-run homer over the wall in right field as they went onto score five runs in the inning en route to a 9-6 win over BC Orange. BC had taken a 4-0 lead before Ontario came back with three runs in the third thanks to a three-run triple off the bat of Austin Guzzo-Foliaro. Demi Orimoloye went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for Ontario, while BC’s Luke Horanski picked up two singles. Tosh Semlacher hit a triple and had an RBI for BC.
Futures (Navy) 2 Québec (White) 2
Futures Navy jumped out to a two-run lead only to see Québec White respond with two runs in the second for all the scoring the game would see as both clubs settled for a 2-2 tie. Jonathan Martin made it 2-1 when he blasted a solo home run over the right field wall and James Grondin later scored on an RBI ground out in the two-run second. The Futures opened the scoring when Quinton Bent cashed in Preston Kokotaillo with an RBI single in the first and made it 2-0 in the second when Adam Hall tripled and scored on an RBI single from Cooper Davis. Québec’s Cory Boucher and Julien Cyr tossed two scoreless innings each, while the Futures Nicholas Virdo equalled the feat.
Maritimes (Grey) 5 Ontario (Green) 4
Maritimes Grey picked up their second win of the day and moved to 3-0 to clinch a spot in the semi-finals on the strength of a 5-4 win over Ontario Green. Cody Schrider got things going with two out in the bottom of the first when he ripped a two out RBI double and later scored on Mitchell Hazlett’s single. Hazlett would later add another RBI single as his club built a 5-1 lead after four. Maritimes starter Jesse Borden went four innings and gave-up one run on two hits and two walks, while striking out five. Colby Turple continued his strong tournament with a lead-off triple in the third. Ontario’s JD Williams had an RBI double in the top of the seventh, while Gareth Morgan added a two-run single to left field.
Ontario (Maroon) 5 Prairies (Brown) 2
Prairies Brown committed three errors in the fourth and Ontario Maroon took advantage scoring five runs to erase a one-run deficit as they went onto a 5-2 win for their second victory of the tournament. Maroon starter Jake Conway struck out five in three innings of work and gave-up one run, while Michael Brettel and Tyler Whitbread each contributed a scoreless inning in relief. Tristan Clarke had a double and scored a run for Maroon, while the Prairies were led offensively by Cole Warken who went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI’s.
Standings after two days of competition:
Pool A
Maritimes (Grey) 3-0
Québec (Blue) 1-1
Ontario (Black) 1-1
Ontario (Green) 1-2
BC (Orange) 0-2
Pool B
Ontario (Maroon) 2-1
Futures (Navy) 1-0-1
Québec (White) 1-0-1
Alberta (Red) 1-1
Prairies (Brown) 0-3
Notes: Six more games are scheduled for tomorrow as round-robin action continues with each contest surely to play a role in determining the playoff picture. All games can be followed live courtesy of MLB Gameday. The live scoring link, schedule, rosters, and tournament rules are available at bluejays.com/t12.
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