FREDERICK, MD. — A clutch eighth-inning rally led by Robert Omidi (Mississauga, ON) and Félix Gosselin (Drummondville, QC), backed by a strong bullpen, lifted the Canadian Junior National Team to a convincing 9–4 win over the Frederick Keys on Thursday night.
William Labonte (Okotoks, AB) got the start on the mound for Canada and delivered three strong innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out five in the early going.
Canada opened the scoring in the fourth, capitalizing on a two-out rally that featured a Robert Omidi RBI double and a sharp RBI single by Tim Piasentin (Coquitlam, BC). Two more runs scored on a wild pitch and a pair of defensive miscues to give the Juniors an early 4–0 lead.
The Keys responded with four runs in the bottom half, but the Canadian bullpen held firm the rest of the way.
Tied 4–4 through seven, the Juniors broke things open in the eighth. After a walk and hit-by-pitch extended the inning, Omidi came through again with a two-run single to center, scoring Jordan Jacob (Maple, ON) and Taye Thierman (Calgary, AB).
Omidi finished the night 4-for-5 with three RBIs, leading a balanced Canadian offense that saw contributions up and down the lineup. Gosselin added an important insurance run with an RBI double in the ninth before coming around to score on an error to round out the scoring.
On the mound, Adyn Schell (Toronto, ON) and Max Poirier (Nanaimo, BC) combined for four scoreless innings to shut the door and preserve the win.
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(Robert Omidi, William Labonte, Félix Gosselin)
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