AJAX – The Junior National Team selection camp is underway in Ajax, Ontario where the Juniors have started preparations for the (WBSC) U-18 World Baseball Cup set to take place in Sarasota, Florida from September 9th-18th.
After three successful days of workouts the Juniors now switch gears and get ready for a four-game series against the Blue Jays Academy Scout Team.
Post-game recaps will be posted daily in the notebook. For more additional content, make sure to follow the official Junior National Team Twitter and Baseball Canada’s Instagram and Tik-Tok.
Junior National Team 1-1 Toronto Blue Jays FCL
The Junior National Team and the Toronto Blue Jays FCL played to a 1-1 as the game needed to be stopped after seven and a half innings due to bad weather. The JNT collected four hits in this one run effort against the Jays.
Felix Morin (Quebec City, QC) was the starter for the Juniors on this one, working three innings of no earned runs. The left-hander only allowed two hits and issued a single free pass while striking out four over his three inning performance. Carson Latimer (Delta, ON) was the arm off the bullpen working two solid innings of no earned runs allowing one hit and three walks as the right-hander worked in and out of trouble in the middle innings of this one. Parker Burgess (Douro-Dummer, ON) was the next in line working a single frame, allowing only one walk and no earned runs as his outing was cut short due to the bad weather.
The big offensive blow for the Juniors came thanks to a Cameron Chee-Aloy (Toronto, ON) RBI single in the top of the third inning to tie the game 1-1. Hugh Pinkney (Toronto, ON) continues to lead the Junior's offence this Selection Camp collecting a hit and a walk over his three plate appareances. Myles Naylor (Mississauga, ON) and Ty Hamilton (Orleans, ON) both collected a hit in three at bats for the other two Junior hits on this one.
Junior National Team 10-7 Toronto Blue Jays Aademy Scout Team
The Junior National Team stole the lead late in a 10-7 victory over the TBJ Academy Scout Team in the last game of the four-game exhibition series between the two. The Juniors collected a total of eleven hits in this ten-run effort where nine of the eleven players reached base safely at least once over the then inning affair.
Keegan O'Hearn led the Juniors offence with a 2-for-3 performance, collecting a pair of walks and a pair of RBIs. Max Hartman (St. Albert, AB) also swong a hot bat going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Ty Hamilton (Orleans, ON) had a busy day around the bases collecting three hits in four at bats while scoring a pair for his squad. Hugh Pinkney (Toronto, ON) had a strong finish to the series collecting a pair of hits in four at bats with a run scored.
Carson Latimer (Delta, BC) was the winning pitcher working four full innings permitting only one run in two hits while striking out four. Ty Hamilton did it on both sides of the field on this one, as he closed the action for the Juniors working two scoreless innings allowing only one hit and striking out five out of the seven hitters he faced.
Junior National Team 20-3 Toronto Blue Jays Academy Scout Team
The bats were on fire for the Junior National Team on the third game of this four-game exhibition series against the Toronto Blue Jays Academy Scout Team. The Juniors collected a total of 15 hits that resulted in 20 runs over the ten-inning match-up on Thursday.
The offence got off to a hot start thanks to a 2-run homerun by Sam White (Aurora, ON) in the bottom half of the first inning to give the Juniors a quick 2-0 lead. Sam would finish the day with four RBIs over his 2-for-3 performance at the dish. Hugh Pinkney (Toronto, ON) continues to swing a hot bat for the Juniors finishing the day with three hits in four at bats while driving in five runs. Tyrus Hall (Victoria, BC) and Myles Naylor (Mississauga, ON) both had perfect days at the plate going 3-for-3 and 2-for-2 with two and one RBI respectively.
The Juniors had a strong performance defensively committing just one error while working in and out of trouble. Chase Marshall (Surrey, BC) was the starting pitcher for the JNT on this one working three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit while striking out three. Carson Lumley (London, ON) was the first out of the bullpen working a one run outing of two hits, one walk and one earned while fanning two over three innings. Elliot Cadieux-Lanoue (St. Pie, QC) was next in line collecting five strikeouts and permitting a run in two hits over his three-inning performance. Keegan O'Hearn (Oshawa, ON) put the closing touches on this one, working a perfect scoreless inning, striking out two out of the three batters he faced.
Juniot National Team 14 - 9 Toronto Blue Jays Academy Scout Team
The Junior National Team steals the lead late and defeats the Toronto Blue Jays Academy Scout Team 14-9 in a high scoring back and forth affair. This 12-inning exhibition matchup had plenty of action with the Juniors collecting nine hits and crossing the plate 14 times to lock in the victory against a tough opponent.
Hugh Pinkney (Toronto, ON) got the Juniors on the board with a clutch 3-RBI double in the top of the fourth inning to overcome an early 2-0 deficit. They would later add one more off a bases loaded walk to Keegan O'Hearn (Oshawa, ON) to make it 4-2 in that same half inning. The TBJ Academy would battle back to take the lead again 7-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning and set the stage for a clutch RBI single by Tyrus Hall (Victoria, BC) to bring things back to even 7-7 in the top of the ninth. Two innings later Max Hartman (St. Albert, AB) would step up in the plate for the Juniors and deposit a 2-RBI double to dead centre field, giving the Juniors a more confortable 10-7 lead. The JNT would finish this offensive output with a bang as Myles Naylor (Mississauga, ON) and Keegan O'Hern smashed a solo and a 2-run homerun respectively to reach our final 14-9 score.
Felix Morin (Quebec, QC) was the starter for the Juniors and worked three full frames of no earned runs striking out five while only issuing one walk. Jack Pineau (Thunder Bay, ON) was the first off the bullpen also working three full frames allowing one earned run in four hits, striking out two. Parker Burgess (Douro-Dummer, ON) closed the actions for the Juniors working the last three innings of the game allowing one earned despite only giving up one hit and three walks while fanning three.
Junior National Team 4 - 1 Toronto Blue Jays Academy Scout Team
The Junior National Team wins the first of four exhibition affairs against the Toronto Blue Jays Academy Scout Team. Pitching and defence was the name of this long 12-inning matchup between these two squads with the Juniors ultimately coming out on top.
Reece Usselman (Langley, BC) set the tone on the mound for the JNT working three full innings of one hit and three strikeouts. The left hander's performance was followed by three perfect innings of Kaleb Thomas (Hagersville, ON) who also collected three punchouts. Matteo Pare (LaSalle, ON) was the next in line, also working three scoreless allowing four hits while striking out five. Zak Szabo (Whitby, ON) closed the actions for the Juniors with three innings of no runs while, two walks and seven strikeouts.
The Junior National Team combined for five hits over the 12-inning game. Sam Shaw (Victoria, BC) and Max Hartman (St. Albert, AB) both collected an RBI over their 1-for-4 and 1-for-5 performances. No hit was bigger than Hugh Pinkney's (Toronto, ON) 2-RBI single on the bottom of the eighth inning which would give the Juniors a 3-1 lead at the time. The Juniors would not look back and tack one more to secure the 4-1 victory over the TBJ Academy Scout Team.
