ST.PETERSBURG, Fla. – The St. Petersburg Junior College Titans scored two runs in the fifth breaking a 2-2 tie and shut down the Junior National Team’s offence en route to a 4-2 win at Al Lang Field this evening.
The juniors had just one hit from the fourth inning on and managed to get only one runner on base during the last three innings.
On the bright side, four pitchers combined to give up just two earned runs in a game where seven errors in total were committed.
Things didn’t get off to a good start for starter Isaac Anesty (Guelph, ON) and the juniors as an error at second base allowed the lead-off batter to reach first, and after a double and two-run single the Titans led by two.
Royce Ando (Mississauga, ON) got things going in the bottom of the first with a single to right and Luke Horanski (Dugalb, MB) moved him to second with a sac bunt before a misplayed ball at second allowed Ando to score.
A double from Nolan Bumstead (Calgary, AB) down the left field line put a runner in scoring position to lead-off the bottom of the third and he came around to score when a chopper off the bat of Royce Ando got by the second baseman for an error and rolled into centerfield.
Unfortunately that’s as close as the juniors would get as the Titans plated two runs off reliever Brad Smith (Vancouver, BC) in the fifth.
With one out, an error at third base put a runner on first and after a strikeout, a walk gave the Titans two runners on with two out.
The go ahead run scored on a single and a wild pitch put the visitors up by two.
Smith tossed three innings and struck out three, while giving up two hits and a walk.
Kristjan Storrie (Langley, BC) came out of the bullpen for the sixth and seventh innings and was very effective facing only seven batters and walking one, while striking out two.
Mitch Bigras (Sarnia, ON) tossed two scoreless frames and got some help from his defence in the ninth when first baseman Robert Byckowski (Etobicoke, ON) fielded a ground ball at first and fired a strike to catcher Darren Shred (Brampton, ON) who tagged the runner out at home with the infield playing in.
Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, AB) singled in the eighth for the juniors first hit since the third inning but was caught trying to steal second.-
Up next: The Junior National Team will take-on Faith Baptist High School in a matinee contest tomorrow at 1pm ET at Al Lang Field…Kyle Ross (Maple Ridge, BC) is expected to start with Tristan Clarke (Brampton, ON), Nolan Bumstead (Calgary, AB) and Mike Soroka (Calgary, AB) scheduled to follow.
Listen Live: Can’t make it to the game? No problem! You can listen to all Junior National Team Spring Training games live by visiting radiostpete.com.
Tickets: For more information on the series, visit stpeteinternationalbaseball.com. All game tickets are $10 (General Admission only) and are available in advance at the St. Petersburg Museum of History or online at SPMOH.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the Al Lang Field Box Office.
Twitter: @baseballcanada I @Team_C_Updates
