ORLANDO – It was a tough trip in terms of wins for the Junior National Team at the Fall Instructional League camp as the Canadians would drop their final game in Florida to the Atlanta Braves by a score of 11-3. It would be the Braves who would get on the board first as a leadoff walk followed by a double in the second inning gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead. They would add another run in the inning off of Canadian starter Jonathan Paquet (Ancienne Lorette, QC) to make it 2-0. Paquet went three solid innings on the mound, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts. Canada got on the board in the fourth inning when Tyler McWhirter (Regina, SK) came in to score on an RBI single by Johnathan Solazzo (Mississauga, ON) to cut the lead to 2-1. The Braves would respond in the bottom half of the fourth by scoring a pair of runs of Jordan Wong (Calgary, AB) and take a 4-1 lead. Atlanta added another run in the fifth inning to make it 5-1. All together, Wong allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three batters in two innings of work. In one swing of the bat, the Braves put the game out of reach in the sixth inning as Cody Johnson hit a grand slam to put Atlanta ahead 9-1. Canada would tack on a couple of runs in the eighth inning as Joel Pierce (Windsor, ON) and Brooklyn Foster (Langley, BC) would come in to score on a hit and a sacrifice fly to make it 9-3 for Atlanta. But the Braves would get those two runs back in the bottom of the eighth on three hits and complete the game’s scoring. Although the Junior National Team ended the Fall Instructional League camp without a win, the experience gained from the camp far outweighs any stats in the win-loss column. The next step on the road to the 2010 World Junior Championship is the Spring Training camp, which will be held in April 2009 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando.
ORLANDO – The Junior National Team were scored on early and often as the Houston Astros were able to knock off the Juniors by a score of 14-1 at the Fall Instructional League camp. The Canadians only run came in the bottom of the first in response to a five-run first by the Astros. Jeff Hunt (Cambridge, ON) hit a bases loaded sacrifice fly to drive in Wes Darvill (Langley, BC) to make it 5-1. Evan Grills (Whitby, ON) started on the mound for the Juniors and gave up five runs, four earned, on three hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts in two innings pitched. The Astros added to their lead in the third scoring three times with two outs in the inning to give them an 8-1 advantage. The runs kept on coming for Houston as they would score a run in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take an 11-1 lead. Paul Barton (Qualicum Beach, BC) gave up four runs, three earned on six hits in three innings of work. He would allow one walk while striking out six. Jason Gibson (Victoria, BC) followed Barton, throwing the sixth and seventh innings. He allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits and three walks while fanning one Astros’ hitter. Houston completed their offensive outburst by adding three more runs in the eighth inning against Jeff Gibbs (Toronto, ON), who went two innings, giving up the three runs on four hits and a walk with two punch outs. Andrew Ruck (Whitby, ON) led the way offensively for the Canadians going 2-for-3. Jeff Hunt drove in the only Canadian run. The Junior National Team will play its final game of the Fall Instructional League camp on Saturday, October 11 when the Juniors take on the Atlanta Braves. Game time is at 10 am.
ORLANDO – The Junior National Team had no answers for the Washington Nationals on this day of Fall Instructional League action as the Canadians would be held to one hit in a 16-0 beating by the Major League Instructional club. Darren Kolk (Mill Bay, BC) produced the only hit for the Canadians, which was an infield single. The Nationals got on the board immediately by scoring one run in the first inning, followed by four runs in the fourth and another pair of runs in the third inning, all against Paul Schaak (Winkler, MB). All together, Schaak allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts over three innings of work. Mike Ellis (Surrey, BC) came in relief of Schaak, but the Nationals were not done with their offensive outburst. Ellis would give up six runs, five earned, over two and one-third innings as Washington would score four runs in the fourth inning and another pair in the sixth for a 13-0 lead before Steve McKinnon (Duncan, BC) was brought in to finish the inning. The Nationals would tack on three more runs, one in each of the final three innings to complete the scoring. McKinnon allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits and a walk in two and two-third innings on the mound. He also registered four punch outs. Joel Pierce (Windsor, ON) finished out the day for the Canadians on the hill, giving up one run on two hits while fanning one Nationals’ hitter. It was a rough day all around for the Juniors as they would give up 16 runs on 23 hits while committing five errors in this game. The Junior National Team will hit the diamond again at the Fall Instructional League camp on Friday, October 10 at 1 pm when the Canadians take on the Houston Astros.
ORLANDO – The Junior National Team could not hold on to a late inning lead as the Atlanta Braves took the lead in the seventh inning and never looked back, defeating the Juniors by a score of 9-5 in Fall Instructional League action. The game was scoreless until the fourth inning when the Canadians opened the scoring when Darren Kolk (Mill Bay, BC) hit a bases loaded double driving in Larry Balkwill (Chatham, ON), Tyler McWhirter (Regina, SK) and Jeff Hunt (Cambridge, ON) to give Canada a 3-0 lead. On the mound, Jake Eliopoulos (Newmarket, ON) was dominant for the Canadians to start the game. He threw two innings, allowing only a walk while striking out two. Jerome Werniuk (Toronto, ON) came in relief of Eliopoulos and was solid in his first two innings of work. The Braves would catch up to him in the fifth inning, scoring two runs against him, first on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and again on a sacrifice fly, this time with Brian Bardis (St, Constant, QC) on the mound. Werniuk ended his day after two and a third innings, giving up two runs on one hit and five walks with one strikeout. Bardis went two-thirds innings, allowing only a walk while striking out one. The Canadians added to their lead in the sixth inning when Jeff Hunt hit a two-run double, scoring Larry Balkwill and Mike Washburn (Fredericton, NB) to give Canada a 5-2 lead. That lead would be short lived as Atlanta tied it up in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs on four walks and two hits against Johnathan Solazzo (Mississauga, ON) to make it 5-5. A leadoff triple in the seventh inning, followed by a pair of singles by the Braves against Evan Zerff (Regina, SK) gave Atlanta their first lead of the game, putting themselves ahead by a score of 6-5. The Braves added three runs to their lead in the eighth inning on three walks and two hits and an error to take a 9-5 lead. Those would be the final runs of the game. Joel Pierce (Windsor, ON) finished things off for the Canadians by pitching a perfect ninth inning to shut things down. Next up for the Junior National Team at the Fall Instructional League camp, the Juniors will take on the Washington Nationals at 1 pm on Thursday, October 9. Bob Elliott article
OTTAWA – Being enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is truly an honour for anyone ever involved in baseball. For Jacques Doucet, being included in the temple of the American pastime is very close to being a reality. Doucet is one of ten finalists for the 2009 Ford C. Frick Award, presented by the Hall of Fame annually to the broadcaster who has made a major contribution to baseball and for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Doucet was the French radio voice of the Montreal Expos from 1972 until 2004. His career following the Expos began in 1968 when he was the baseball beat writer for La Presse, until he would take on the play-by-play duties full time in 1972. Doucet is nominated for the award along with two other legendary voices in Canada, Dave Van Horn and the late Tom Cheek. Van Horn, who is currently the voice of the Florida Marlins, was a long time broadcaster for the Montreal Expos. Cheek described 4,306 consecutive Toronto Blue Jays games in his illustrious career prior to his death in 2005. The others nominated for the 2009 Frick Award are Joe Nuxhall, Billy Berroa, Ken Coleman, Dizzy Dean, Lanny Frattare, Tony Kubek and Graham McNamee. For his part, Doucet described over 5,500 Major League Baseball games over his long and storied career, including two perfect games. The first was Dennis Martinez in 1991 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the second was David Cone in 1999 for the New York Yankees against the Expos. After the Expos moved to Washington to become the Nationals after the 2004 season, Doucet became the French radio voice of the Québec Capitales of the Can-Am League, a position he has held since 2006. He has also received numerous awards, including an induction into the Québec Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 and into the Expos Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2004, Doucet was admitted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame as the winner of the Jack Graney Award. However, Doucet has contributed more than just his voice to baseball. Thanks to his many years of broadcasting baseball in French, Doucet was instrumental in translating the vast vocabulary of baseball into the French language and making it accessible to the millions of French speaking Canadians. The winner of the 2009 Ford C. Frick Award will be announced on December 9, 2008.
ORLANDO – It was a back and forth battle, unfortunately it only lasted five innings. The Houston Astros held a 5-3 lead over the Junior National Team in Fall Instructional League camp action before the rain came down and the game was called after five innings. The Astros opened the scoring immediately in the first inning, scoring a pair of runs on four hits against Canadian starter Jordan Wong (Calgary, AB). Wong would finish strong in his two innings of work, allowing the two first inning runs and four hits and a pair of walks. The Canadians came roaring back in the second inning, leading off with back-to-back single by Larry Balkwill (Chatham, ON) and Donovan Latour (Barrie, ON) and then Mitch Frey (Medicine Hat, AB) reaching on an error to load the bases. With one out in the inning, Keaton Briscoe (North Vancouver, BC) laced a two-run double bringing in Balkwill and Latour to tie things up at two apiece. Trevor Barton (London, ON) added a two-out infield single to drive in Frey and give Canada a 3-2 lead. Houston tied the game in the third when a single and a double off Yan Fortin (Laval, QC) drove in a run to knot it at 3-3. The Astros retook the lead in the fourth inning when Colin Delome hit a two-run home run and give his team a 5-3 advantage. Fortin ended his day after two innings pitched, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out four. Latour then came in to pitch and threw one inning and allowed two walks in the frame while striking out the side before the game was called. The Junior National Team will once again take to the field at the Fall Instructional League camp on Wednesday, October 8 at 1 pm when the Canadians take on the Atlanta Braves.
ORLANDO – It was a tightly contested matchup between the Junior National Team and the Washington Nationals at the Fall Instructional League camp as it took a late rally in the ninth inning for the Nationals to top the Canadians by a score of 3-2. It was a pitcher’s duel throughout as after three innings, the game would remain tied at 1-1 until the top of the ninth when Washington scored a pair of runs on a double and two singles to take a 3-1 lead. The Canadians would reply in the bottom of the ninth when Keaton Briscoe (North Vancouver, BC) came in to score on an error to make it 3-2, but that was as close as they would get. The Nationals opened the scoring in the top of the third inning when a leadoff single, an error allowing the runner to advance to third and a steal of home plate gave Washington the 1-0 lead. That would be the only blemish on Evan Grills (Whitby, ON) line. In three innings pitched, Grills allowed an unearned run along with one hit while striking out two. Johnathan Solazzo (Mississauga, ON) kick started the Canadian offence in the bottom half of the third, leading off with a single. After Andrew Ruck (Whitby, ON) was hit by a pitch and both runners advanced on an error, Tanner Nivins (Kitchener, ON) hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Solazzo and tie the game at one. Wes Darvill (Langley, BC) added a pair of hits in this game. He went 2-for-3. Paul Barton (Qualicum Beach, BC) and Jeff Gibbs (Toronto, ON) were outstanding on the mound for the Canadians. Barton allowed three hits and one walk with two strikeouts in two innings of work, while Gibbs threw two shutout innings as well, allowing only one hit in his outing. Jonathan Paquet (Ancienne Lorette, QC) closed things out on the mound for the Juniors. He gave up a pair of runs on four hits and a walk in two innings pitched. Next up for the Junior National Team at the Fall Instructional League camp is a matchup with the Houston Astros on Tuesday, October 7 at 1 pm. Bob Elliott article
ORLANDO – The Junior National Team could not stop the bleeding as Seminole Community College took advantage of every chance they had to come up with a 10-3 win over the Juniors at the Fall Instructional League Camp. The Canadians were on Seminole’s heels until the fourth inning when the Raiders gradually put this game out of reach. With one out and a runner on first in the first inning for Seminole, they would load the bases on an error and a hit batsman. After getting the second out of the inning, Anthony Boix doubled against Paul Schaak (Winkler, MB) to clear the bases and give Seminole an early 3-0 lead. Canada would respond in the second inning when a single would drive in Justin Atkinson (Surrey, BC) and Donovan Latour (Barrie, ON) to cut the lead to one. But Seminole would regain their three-run lead in the third inning when they scored two runs on three hits against Mike Ellis (Surrey, BC) and make it 5-2. The Canadians again cut into the lead in the bottom half of the third when Larry Balkwill (Chatham, ON) hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Tanner Nivins (Kitchener, ON) as Canada now trailed 5-3. That would be as close as they would get as Seminole went on to score one run in each of the next five innings to solidify the win. Paul Schaak, who started on the mound for the Canadians, gave up the first three runs of the game, however only one was earned as he would throw two innings, allowing two hits and two walks with one strikeout. Steve McKinnon (Duncan, BC) had a strong outing, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits, while striking out two in two innings of work. Evan Zerff (Regina, SK) threw his second shutout inning in as many days, pitching the ninth inning and retiring the side in order. On offence, Alexandre Béland (Trois-Rivières, QC) led the way, stroking two of Canada's four hits in the game, going 2-for-3. Larry Balkwill went 1-for-3 with an RBI and Wes Darvill (Langley, BC) went 1-for-4 to round out the Canadian offence. Next up for the Junior National Team at the Fall Instructional League camp is a matchup with the Washington Nationals on Monday, October 6 at 1 pm. Bob Elliott article
ORLANDO – The Junior National Team started off their Fall Instructional League schedule with a solid effort against the Atlanta Braves, however they couldn’t muster enough offence and the Juniors fell to the Braves by a score of 3-0. Jake Eliopoulos (Newmarket, ON) got the start on the mound for the Canadians and got things started on the right foot for his team as he would pitch three shutout innings, allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out a pair. The score would remain tied at zeros until the fifth inning when a pair of walks and a two-out double against Jerome Werniuk (Toronto, ON) allowed the first two runs of the game to score and gave Atlanta a 2-0 lead. Werniuk went two innings, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks with one strikeout. The Braves would add to their lead in the seventh inning on back-to-back doubles against Ethan Stewart (Campbell River, BC) to take a 3-0 lead. Stewart gave up one run on three hits and a walk with one strikeout in two innings of work. Evan Zerff (Regina, SK) went to the hill in the ninth inning for the Canadians and was almost perfect, allowing only one walk with no hits in his inning on the mound. Offensively, Canada banged out four hits in the game led by Darren Kolk (Mill Bay, BC) who was 2-for-4. Mike Washburn (Fredericton, NB) and Keaton Briscoe (North Vancouver, BC) collected the other two hits for the Juniors. Next up for the Junior National Team at the Fall Instructional League Camp is a matchup with Seminole Community College on Sunday, October 5 at 1 pm. Bob Elliott article
OTTAWA - Baseball Canada announced the Junior National Team roster which will be making its way to Orlando, Florida at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex for the Fall Instructional League Camp from October 2nd to 12th. 35 players have been invited to the fall camp, including Evan Grills (Whitby, ON) who was a member of the Junior National Team for the 2008 World Junior Championship in Edmonton, Alberta last August. The junior team will hold daily practices while in Florida as well as play eight games against Major League Baseball affiliated teams. Included in their schedule are games against the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals. Also included in the schedule is a matchup with Seminole Community College. “This camp will allow our coaching staff the opportunity to evaluate all players in a highly competitive environment,” says Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada’s Director of National Teams and manager of the Junior National Team. “The strides taken at this camp will better prepare our team for success internationally at future competitions.” The Fall Instructional League camp is the first step toward establishing a club for the 2010 World Junior Championship which will take place in Thunder Bay, Ontario. 13 players included on the fall roster are from Ontario, while 11 hail from British Columbia. Four team members reside in Québec with three hailing from Alberta and two from Saskatchewan. Manitoba and New Brunswick each have one player attending the camp. For the players, the training camp will not only offer them the chance to improve skills but will also provide plenty of exposure, as several college and professional scouts will use the training camp as an opportunity for talent evaluation. RosterSchedulePitching Rotation
