ORLANDO, Florida – A five run fifth inning helped propel the Junior National Team to victory over the Washington Nationals by a score of 6-4 at the Fall Instructional League Camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
Trailing 2-1 going into the bottom of the fifth, Nick Mahovlich (Coquitlam, BC) and Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, MB) both drew walks to lead off the frame. A couple of passed balls allowed Mahovlich to score the tying run to make it 2-2.
With Johnson now at third and Cameron Mattice (Mississauga, ON) at second after drawing a walk and advancing on a Ryan Clarke (Mississauga, ON) ground out, Brandon Dailey (Brantford, ON) came through with a two-run single to give Canada a 4-2 lead.
After Kellin Deglan (Langley, BC) doubled to put runners on second and third, Cédrick Vallières (Roxton Pond, QC) hit a two-run double down the left field line to put the Canadians ahead by four.
Washington would cut the lead to two in the top of the sixth on a bases loaded walk and a fielder’s choice to make it 6-4, but that would be as close as they would get.
Evan Grills (Whitby, ON) got the start on the mound for the JNT and he was in fine form, throwing three scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out two.
The Canadians jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Alex Calbick (Burnaby, BC), who drew a two-walk, came around to score on a bases loaded walk to Mahovlich.
A pair of errors in the fourth and fifth innings allowed the Nationals to take a 2-1 lead, but the lead turned out to be short lived.
Joel Pierce (Windsor, ON) and Johnson both threw one-two-three innings in the eighth and ninth to preserve the win for Canada.
Next up for the Junior National Team is a match up with the Houston Astros on Friday, October 9th at 1 PM at Champion Stadium at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
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