OTTAWA – Baseball Canada will begin its selection process for the 2007 national junior team when it conducts a training camp and participates in the Fall Instructional League Oct. 12 to 22 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. A total of 30 players aged 16 and 17-years-old have been invited to take part in the camp, which will include practices and an eight-game schedule featuring games against the fall instructional league teams of the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians as well as one match-up against the Stetson University Hatters. The camp will serve as the first of four steps in the selection process for the 2007 national junior team that will participate in next summer’s Americas Qualification Tournament for the World Junior AAA Championships. Baseball Canada will also hold a selection camp next spring with various MLB clubs’ extended spring training teams before participating in the Dominican Summer League and staging a final training camp and exhibition series, all of which will culminate in the selection of the national junior team’s 18-player roster. Roster Schedule
Four Canadians, including three former Baseball Canada national team members, have extended their seasons into the Major League Baseball Playoffs. First baseman Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.), catcher Russell Martin (Chelsea, Qué.), right-hander Jesse Crain (Toronto, Ont.) and right-hander Rich Harden (Victoria, B.C.) will all try to help their teams to a World Series title when the playoffs begin tomorrow. A four-time national team member, Morneau is considered one of the front-runners for the American League MVP award after a career year in which he led the Minnesota Twins to the American League Central division championship by batting .321 with 34 homeruns and 130 RBI. The 25-year-old has represented Baseball Canada at the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the 2003 Olympic Qualifier, the 2001 World Cup and was also a member of the 1999 National Junior Team. Morneau’s team-mate in Minnesota, Jesse Crain, who made his first appearance on a Canadian national team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic will bolster the Twins’ bullpen as they hope to move on to the American League Championship Series. Now in his third season in the Major Leagues, Crain pitched in 68 games in 2006, posting a 4-5 record with 1 save and a 3.52 ERA. Rookie Russell Martin burst onto the scene this season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After an outstanding spring training, Martin was called up to join the Dodgers on May 5th and quickly took over as the team’s No. 1 catcher. In addition to being rock solid behind the plate, Martin hit .282 with 10 homeruns, 26 doubles and 65 RBI in 121 games. After starting the season 12-17 for last place in the National League West, the Dodgers went 76-57 after Martin’s arrival to capture the National League Wild Card title. Martin has most recently represented Canada at the 2005 Regional Olympic Qualifier and the 2003 Olympic Qualifier. He also donned the red and white for the National Junior Team in 1999, 2000 and 2001. After spending most of the season on the disabled list with a strained elbow ligament, Rich Harden is healthy again just in time to help the streaking Oakland Athletics in the post-season. The A’s starter is 4-0 with a 3.35 ERA this season and 46 strikeouts in 43.0 innings pitched. St. Louis Cardinals coach Dave McKay (Vancouver, B.C.) will also add to the Canadian content in the MLB playoffs. MLB PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
The first two hitters in Baseball Canada’s bronze medal-winning line-up at the World Junior Championships have been named to the tournament all-star team. Lead-off man Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) and two-hole hitter Chase Larsson (Vancouver, B.C.) were two of the three outfielders to be selected to the squad following the end of the championship yesterday. Lawrie, Canada’s left fielder hit .415 with 4 doubles, 2 homeruns, 7 RBI, and 9 runs scored over eight games in addition to posting a .699 slugging percentage and collecting 27 total bases. With the centre fielder, Larsson, hitting directly behind Lawrie, Canada had a deadly one-two punch at the top of their order. Larsson hit .350 with 2 doubles, 5 RBI, 8 runs scored and 16 total bases in the tournament. Other top performers for Canada included right fielder Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.) who hit .379 with 4 RBI, catcher Jordan Wideman (Mississauga, Ont.) who hit .358 with 5 RBI, as well as pitchers Cory Hall (Regina, Sask.), Drew Parker (Surrey, B.C.) and Sheldon McDonald (Spruce Grove, Alta.). Hall was 2-0 with 15 strikeouts and a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings of work while Parker threw 11.2 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts to post a 1-0 record. McDonald was equally effective, going 1-0 with 5 strikeouts and a 1.36 ERA in 13.0 innings pitched. All-Star Team Catcher: Kyle Botha – South Africa1st Base: Doo Hwann Lee – Korea2nd Base: Christian Colon – United States3rd Base: Dayan Viciedo – CubaShortstop: Xavier Gonzalez – SpainOutfield: Dariel Alvarez – CubaOutfield: Brett Lawrie – CanadaOutfield: Chase Larsson – CanadaDesignated Hitter: Leandro Lamadrid – CubaRight-handed pitcher: Freddy A. Alvarez – CubaLeft-handed pitcher: Yang Hyeon Jong – Korea.
Baseball Canada’s three-run eighth inning helped put away Mexico 6-2 today to win the bronze medal at the World Junior AAA Championships in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. With Canada leading 3-2 going into their half of the eighth, a single by Kyle Orr (Victoria, B.C.) and walks to Jordan Wideman (Mississauga, Ont.) and David Narodowski (Vancouver, B.C.) loaded the bases. Orr then scored on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Gilligan (Toronto, Ont.) to make it 4-2 before Brett Lawrie smacked a 2-RBI single to go ahead 6-2. Reliever Drew Parker (Surry, B.C.), Canada’s third pitcher of the day came into the game with one out and the tying run on second base, but induced two straight ground outs to preserve Canada’s 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the eighth. Gilligan scored Narodowski from first with a double to left-centre field in the bottom of the sixth for the eventual winning run. For the second straight day, Canada opened the scoring before the opposition registered an out. Lead off man Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) and Chase Larsson (Vancouver, B.C.) both singled and scored on double by Jonathan Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.) for an early 2-0 lead. Mexico came back to tie the game 2-2 thanks to an RBI single by Noris Rogelio in the fourth inning and a lead-off homerun deep down the left field line by Angel Ramirez in the sixth inning. Cory Hall (Regina, Sask.) got the win for Canada going seven innings strong while giving up the two Mexican runs behind eight hits, one walk and five strikeouts in replacement of starter Mehdi Djebbar who faced four batters in the first inning. Lawrie was 2-for-5 with 2 RBI, Gilligan was 1-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI and Waltenbury was 1-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI to do most of the damage for Canada. The Bronze medal is Canada’s fifth-ever medal at the World Junior AAA Championships and its first since 1997. Baseball Canada also took the gold medal in 1991 as well as the bronze medal in 1983, 1987 and 1997. Box Score
Baseball Canada’s national junior team had no answer for Korean pitchers today in a 6-1 loss to Korea at the World Junior Championships semi-final in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Canada managed only four hits against Hyeon Jong Yang, Kwang Hyun Kim, Jae Gon Lee and Tae Hoon Im. Although Korea wasn’t swinging the bat all that well either, they were able to pull out their second straight win at the championship with only seven hits in two days. Hyeon Jon Yang gave up the only Canadian run when lead-off man Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) took a first pitch fastball over the left-field wall to open the scoring in the bottom of the first, but Korea countered on an RBI fielder’s choice from Sun Bin Kim after starter Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Qué.) walked two hitters and beaned another to load the bases in the top of the second. Korea never looked back. Korea took its first lead of the game when first baseman Doo Hwan Lee got the green light on a 3-0 count and crushed a two-run blast to left field to put his team up 3-1 in the top of the fifth inning. The Koreans extended their lead to three runs the next inning after Canadian starter Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Qué.) walked the lead off batter and reliever Sheldon McDonald (Spruce Grove, Alta.) issued the second walk of the inning to put Korean runners on first and third. Korea then put on the double steal where the trailing runner got caught in a rundown between first and second allowing the lead runner to score from third for a 4-1 lead. Canada issued seven walks and committed three errors as Korea continued to slowly gain momentum, scoring once more in the seventh and once more in the eighth to go ahead 6-1. Meanwhile, the Korean pitchers were keeping Canada’s offence at bay and Kwang Hyun Kim got the win in relief by allowing only 1 hit in 4.2 innings of work. Aumont was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on three hits, five walks and three strikeouts. McDonald gave up one earned run behind three hits, two walks and two strikeouts in relief. Canada will now face Mexico in the bronze medal game tomorrow at 2 p.m. EST, while the United States and Korea will face off for the gold. Box Score
James Paxton (Delta, B.C.), Leslie Williams (Scarborough, Ont.) and Drew Parker (Surrey, B.C.) combined for a one-hitter in a 5-3 win over Panama, today, in quarter final action at the World Junior AAA Championships in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Paxton, who started the game for Canada, no-hit Panama over the first 2.1 innings of work before being replaced by Williams. Williams was tagged for two earned runs after allowing four of 11 walks handed out by Canadian pitchers and the lone Panamanian hit – an RBI single from lead-off man Ruben Tehada that cut the Canadian lead to 5-3 in the fourth inning. However, Parker earned the win in relief by no-hitting Panama and striking out five hitters over the final 5.1 innings and send Canada to a semi-final match-up against Korea, tomorrow at 2 p.m. EST. First baseman Kyle Orr (Victoria, B.C.,) helped Canada jump out to an early 5-0 lead as Canada scored three runs in the first inning and two more in the third. Orr was 1-for-2 with a homerun, 3 RBI and 1 run scored. Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.) was 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored, Jonathan Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.) was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored, Jordan Wideman (Mississauga, Ont.) was 2-for-3 with 1 RBI and Mark Ellis (Maple Ridge, B.C.) was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Canada now has its sights set on Korea for tomorrow’s semi-final match-up. Despite collecting only two base hits, Korea beat Chinese Taipei 1-0 yesterday to earn the right to face Canada. On the other side of the bracket, the United States upset the host Cuban squad to draw Mexico in the other semi-final. Mexico beat the Netherlands 5-3 to keep their hopes alive. The match-up will be the second of the tournament between the two teams after Mexico surprised the U.S. 3-0 on the second day of the Championship. Box Score
Baseball Canada’s national junior team beat Italy 10-0 today, to finish atop the Pool B standings and move onto the quarter finals at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Ciego de Avila, Cuba. Jonathan Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.) got the ball rolling with a solo homerun in the bottom of the first and Canada never looked back, shutting the Italians out in eight innings thanks to the international 10-run mercy rule. The Canadians scored twice in the fourth, twice in the fifth and three times in the sixth to extend their lead before scoring solo markers in the seventh and eighth innings. Waltenbury went 2-for-3 with the homerun, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored while Chris Dennis (Windsor, Ont.) continued his hot streak by going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and one run scored to pace the Canadians. Meanwhile, starter Cory Hall (Regina, Sask.) overpowered the Italian hitters over seven innings of work, giving up only three hits and striking out 7 to earn the win. Mehdi Djebbar (Montréal, Qué.) struck out two in the final frame to close out the game. Chase Larsson (Vancouver, B.C.) was 3-for-5 with 3 runs scored, Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.) was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and Kyle Gilligan (Toronto, Ont.) was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Canada now awaits its next opponent, which will be the fourth place team from Pool A. The two teams will battle Sunday at 2 p.m. EST for a spot in the semi finals. Box Score Standings: In the sidebar on the left, click on "Posiciones B"
Baseball Canada’s national junior team narrowly missed out on an opportunity to drop the United States to 0-3 at the World Junior Championships yesterday after an unearned run lifted the Americans to a 2-1 win. The winning run was the second of a two-run fifth inning for the U.S. after Canada had taken an early 1-0 lead when a sacrifice fly from David Narodowski (Vancouver, B.C.) score Mark Ellis (Maple Ridge, B.C.) in the second inning. Despite throwing well, Canadian starter James Paxton (Delta, B.C.) found himself on the wrong end of a tight pitchers duel, being tagged with the loss after giving up only one earned run behind three hits, two walks and three strikeouts over the first 4.1 innings. American starter Neil Ramirez earned the win for the Americans, striking out seven Canadians and allowing only two hits and the lone Canadian run before being replace with one out in the sixth inning. Canadian Drew Parker was solid in relief, blanking the Americans over the final 4.2 innings, but Canada’s bats were held silent after scoring over 22 runs in their first two games of the tournament. Ellis, Jordan Wideman (Mississauga, Ont.), Kyle Gilligan (Toronto, Ont.) and Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) were all 1-for-3 while Chase Larsson was 1-for-5 to collect Canada’s hits. Canada’s (2-1) next match-up comes against undefeated Chinese Taipei (3-0) this afternoon at 2 p.m. EST. Box Score: In the sidebar on the left, click on "Resultados de Los Juegos" then click on Game #17.B = At Bats; C = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Homeruns; CI = RBI; 0 = Outs; A = Assists; E = Errors Standings: In the sidebar on the left, click on "Posiciones B."JJ = Games Played; JG = Wins; JP = Losses; AVE = Winning percentage; DIF = Games Back; VS = Visiting Team; HC = Home Team
Baseball Canada’s national junior team vaulted back into first place in Pool B at the World Junior AAA Championships in Ciego de Avila, Cuba, today thanks to a convincing 8-1 victory over previously unbeaten Chinese Taipei. Both teams now sit at 3-1 with one round-robin game remaining in the tournament, but Canada would get the nod over Chinese Taipei virtue of today’s win. Sheldon McDonald (Spruce Grove, Alta.) was impressive for Canada as a powerful Chinese Taipei offence had no answer for the Canadian starting pitcher. McDonald went eight innings strong while giving up only one earned run behind seven hits, two strikeouts and only one walk. While McDonald was throwing seeds, Canada’s hitters were seeing beach balls, clobbering 15 hits on route to yet another big offensive game. Out of the lead off spot, Brett Lawrie was the catalyst, going 5-for-5 with a double, 1 RBI and 2 runs scored, while catcher Jordan Wideman followed suit by going 3-for-4 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Eight of the nine Canadian hitters collected at least one base hit. Mark Ellis (Maple Ridge, B.C.) was 2-for-3 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored and Kyle Orr (Victoria, B.C.) was 1-for-4 with 2 RBI. Chase Larsson (Vancouver, B.C.), Jonathan Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.), Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.) and David Narodowski had a base hit each. Leslie Williams (Scarborough, Ont.) threw a hitless ninth inning to cap off a great outing by Canada. Canada’s (3-1) final round-robin match-up comes tomorrow afternoon against an upstart Italian squad (2-2). Game time is scheduled for 10 a.m. EST. Box Score: In the side bar on the left-hand side, click on "Resultados de Los Juegos" Standings: In the sidebar on the left-hand side, click on “Posiciones B.”
Baseball Canada’s national junior team now sits in a tie for first place in Pool B action at the World Junior AAA Championships in Ciego de Avila, Cuba after coasting to a 12-4 win over Spain yesterday. Spain’s 1-0 lead in the second inning was short lived as Canada opened the flood gates with a two-run third inning, a three-run fourth and a four run fifth to stymie the Spaniards. Canada’s youngest player, second baseman Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) was 4-for-6 with a homerun, a double, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored to spark the Canadians. Chase Larsson (Vancouver, B.C.) was 2-for-4 and also drove in three runs while Jonathan Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.) was 2-for-3 with 1 RBI, Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.) was 1-for-4 with 2 RBI and Leslie Williams (Scarborough, Ont.) was 1-for-4 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored. The win helped Canada improve to 2-0 and a share of the top-spot in their pool, along with Chinese Taipei. The top four teams from each pool will advance to the quarter finals. Southpaw Michael Goemans (Guelph, Ont.) earned the win in relief by striking out five Spanish batters and allowing four hits over 3.2 innings of work. Starter Kyle Orr (Victoria, B.C.) was replaced with one out in the fifth inning after having allowed four runs on seven hits and four strikeouts. Mehdi Djebbar (Montréal, Qué.) struck out two of the batters he faced in the ninth inning to close out the victory. Canada (2-0) will look to remain undefeated, today, against a hungry United States (0-2) team who lost their two first games of the tournament to Mexico and Chinese Taipei. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST. Standings POOL B POOL A Canada 2-0 Cuba 2-0Chinese Taipei 2-0 Australia 1-1Mexico 1-1 Korea 1-1Italy 1-1 Netherlands 1-1United States 0-2 Panama 1-1Spain 0-2 South Africa 0-2
