The Junior National Team’s U18 Pan American Championship Selection Camp is underway, bringing together the country’s top young players as they compete for spots on Canada’s final roster. The camp will serve as the final evaluation period ahead of the 2026 WBSC Americas U18 Pan American Championship.
The five-day camp will include four games against professional academy teams from the Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals.
MacDonald, Chung Lead Juniors Past Phillies in Selection Camp Opener
Junior National Team 5-3 Philadelphia Phillies FIL
BOCA CHICA, DR – The Junior National Team opened the Selection Camp against the Philadelphia Phillies organization with a 5–3 victory, using timely extra-base hits and four scoreless innings from the pitching staff down the stretch to secure the win.
Canada struck first with a pair of runs in the second inning. Dayne Liske (Drayton Valley, AB) singled and Cohen Miller (Calgary, AB) walked before Zach MacDonald (Lacombe, AB) drove both home with a two-run double to centre field, giving the Juniors an early 2–0 advantage.
Calum Andersen (Calgary, AB) set the tone on the mound with two solid innings, permitting only a walk and striking out four to start the ballgame.
The lead grew to three in the third when Elliot Lascelles (Toronto, ON) singled and eventually scored on a Jalen Jacob (Maple, ON) RBI single in the third.
Philadelphia responded with two runs in the bottom half to cut the deficit to 3–2, but Canada restored some breathing room in the fifth.
Ramsey Chung (Mississauga, ON) opened the frame with a triple to centre before MacDonald delivered his second run-scoring double of the game, extending the lead to 4–2. The Phillies answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to make it a one-run game once again.
Canada added an insurance run in the seventh. After Liske worked a walk, courtesy runner Kadyn Armitage (Surrey, BC) came around to score on a Chung single, pushing the advantage to 5–3.
From there, the pitching staff and defence closed the door.
Philadelphia was held scoreless over the final four innings, with Deven Simonovic (Victoria, BC) striking out three over the seventh and eighth innings, before the Ethan Reason (Stouffville, ON) induced a game-ending double play in the ninth.
MacDonald led the Canadian offence with three hits, including two doubles, and drove in three of the team’s five runs. Chung also collected three hits, including a triple, while adding an RBI and helping manufacture the final insurance run.
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(Calum Andersen, Zach MacDonald, Ramsey Chung)
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