Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Qué.), was a one-man wrecking crew, leading Canada to a 10-6 win over Mexico in 13 innings, yesterday, in the tournament opener for both teams at the World Junior AAA Championships in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Aumont was called on to throw in relief with the score tied at 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning. The 6’7” right-hander struck out seven and allowed only one hit over the next five innings in addition to crushing a two-run homerun to highlight a four-run 13th inning that gave Canada their first win of the tournament. Mexico scored all six of their runs in the second inning. Only two were earned as four Canadian errors allowed Mexico to take an early lead. Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.) was 4-for-5 with 1 RBI, Jordan Wideman (Mississauga, Ont.) was 1-for-4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored and David Narodowski (Vancouver, B.C.) was 1-for-4 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored to pace the Canadian attack. Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) and Chase Larsson (Vancouver B.C.) were both 2-for-7 with 1 run scored. Including Aumont, six Canadian pitchers were used in the lengthy battle. Starter Michael Goemans (Guelph, Ont.) gave up four runs (two earned) on four hits over the first 1.1 innings of play. Cory Hall (Regina, Sask.) gave up two unearned runs over the next two innings before Leslie Williams (Scarborough, Ont.), Drew Parker (Surrey, B.C.) and Sheldon McDonald (Spruce Grove, Alta.) shut-down the Mexican offence until the ninth inning where Aumont took over. Canada will look to improve to 2-0 in the tournament when they face Spain this afternoon at 1 p.m. EST.
Baseball Canada’s national junior team had a comeback effort fall just short yesterday as they dropped a 3-2 decision to Sancti Spiritus of the Cuban Professional League. Kyle Orr homered in the fifth inning while Mark Ellis scored on an error in the eighth for Canada, but Sancti Spiritus held on in the ninth for the narrow victory. Canada’s pitching was solid for the second straight day. After starter Michael Goemans worked the first four innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, Matt Jebb, Mehdi Djebbar and Cameron Gray shutout Cuba the rest of the way while only giving up one hit. The Cubans took the lead early in the first when a lead-off double and two singles enabled Sancti Spiritus to score twice. The winning run was scored in the fourth inning behind a single, a stolen base, a sacrifice fly and a pass ball. Orr, Ellis and Jordan Wideman collected Canada’s only hits. The Canadian juniors then lost their third straight games to the Cuban junior national team today, 7-1. The Canadians scored their only run in the first when Chase Larsson drew a walk to lead off the inning and was later cashed in by a fielder’s choice by Jonathan Waterbury. Cuba’s attack came in bunches and extremely efficient once again, scoring four times in the first inning and three more times in the third on only 8 hits. Carlos Mesa hit a towering two-run homerun for the Cubans in the first inning to jump start his team’s offence. After using the long ball to get ahead, Cuba took advantage of three walks and only one single to score three more to pad their lead in the third inning. James Paxton struggled as Canada’s starter going 2.1 innings and allowing 6 runs behind 3 hits, 4 walks and 1 wild pitch. Leslie Williams gave up Cuba’s final run in his 2.1 innings which saw him give up four hits, walk four batters and strike out one. Mehdi Djebbar, Cory Hall and Sheldon McDonald pitched shutout ball and gave up only one hit over the final 5.1 innings.
Baseball Canada’s national junior team was blanked 9-0 by Cuba, yesterday, in the second exhibition match-up between the two teams as part of a training camp in preparation for the 2006 World Junior AAA Championships in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Canada played well, for the most part, taking a 1-0 deficit into the eighth inning against the defending World Champions, but Cuba put up four runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth to cruise to the victory. Canadian starter Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Qué.) held the Cubans at bay over the first five innings, allowing only two hits while striking out five. Reliever Mehdi Djebbar (Montréal, Qué.) was also impressive in his two innings of work, giving up one run on only 1 hit in the sixth inning. Cuba’s Lioius Martin came into score on a sacrifice fly to open the scoring. Cuba put the game away in the eight which was highlighted by a two-run double by Carlos Mesa off of Cameron Gray (Toronto, Ont.). Canadian closer David Francis (Mississauga, Ont.) walked four and gave up a pair of hits in the four-run Cuban ninth. Canada managed four singles by Chase Larsson (Vancouver, B.C.), Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.), Mark Ellis (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and David Narodowski (Vancouver, B.C.) against a tough Cuba pitching staff. Cuba was very efficient, scoring their nine runs on only nine hits and two Canadian errors. The Canadians have a day-off today and will resume their exhibition series against Cuba, Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. EST.
Baseball Canada’s national junior team lost 12-2 yesterday in its first exhibition game in preparation for the World Junior AAA Championships, set to begin in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba Sept. 17. Canada struck first and appeared to be off and running when an RBI single by Shayne Willson (Surrey, B.C.) cashed in Chase Larsson (Vancouver, B.C.), but after being held scoreless in the opening frame, the Cubans erupted for five runs in the second behind three hits, a walk, a hit batsman and a pair of wild pitches. After capitalizing on Canadian miscues to open up a convincing 5-1 lead, Cuba’s attack was relentless as the home squad scored a solo marker in the third inning followed by three more in the fourth before Pavel Avesada hit a monster two-run homerun in the fifth inning to put Cuba up 11-1. Canada meanwhile, had difficulty handling four Cuban pitchers who were topping out at over 90 MPH. Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) took advantage of two Cuban errors to come around to score in the top of the sixth inning, but Cuba answered in the bottom half of the inning to round out the scoring. Canada’s five hits in the game were all singles by Larsson, Willson, Jonathan Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.), Mark Ellis (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and Kyle Gilligan (Toronto, Ont.) Cuba had 12 runs on 15 hits and 3 errors. Canada will attempt to even the exhibition series Monday at 1:30 p.m.
HAVANA, CUBA – Baseball Canada national senior team outfielder Mike Saunders (Victoria, B.C.) has been named to the 2006 COPABE Americas Olympic Qualifier All-Star team. Saunders, the youngest member of Canada’s roster, was the only Canadian named to the all-tournament team. The 19-year-old hit .448 with 7 RBI in nine games during the tournament where he also boasted a .586 slugging percentage and hit four doubles. As impressive as his offensive numbers were, Saunders’ may have made his biggest impact in the outfield. While playing errorless ball, Saunders also collected three outfield assists – Two of which gave Canada a lift in extremely close games. With two out in the eighth in the tournament opener against Puerto Rico, Saunders gunned down Jesus Feliciano at the plate to keep Canada within three and to set up 6-5 Canadian comeback win. Two days later, Canada’s second comeback win of the tournament was also partly set-up by Saunders. With two away in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game against Venezuela, Saunders’ throw from left field beat Luis Landaeta to the plate to send the game into extra innings where Canada scored twice to win 7-5. Saunders also ended a ninth inning comeback attempt by Brazil by throwing out Wilson Watanose at third base as the Brazilian tried to stretch a double into a triple. Canada won that game 7-3. Saunders finished the tournament 5th in hits (13) and 2nd in doubles (4) and 6th in batting average (.448). Other Canadians Among Tournament Leaders: Offence Name Statistic # Tournament Rank Stubby Clapp Stolen Bases 2 1 Stubby Clapp Walks 7 3 Stubby Clapp Plate Presences 45 1 Stubby Clapp At-bats 37 6 Kevin Nicholson At-bats 37 6 Ryan Radmanovich Sacrifice Flies 2 1 Pierre-Luc Laforest Walks 7 3 Emerson Frostad Batting Average .421 9 Defense Name Statistic # Tournament Rank Pierre-Luc Laforest Outs 94 1 Pierre-Luc Laforest Put-outs 98 1 Pierre-Luc Laforest Double Plays 9 2 Kevin Nicholson Assists 34 1 Kevin Nicholson Double Plays 9 2 Stubby Clapp Assists 29 3 Stubby Clapp Double Plays 7 7 Matt Rogelstad Assists 24 6 Pitching Name Statistic # Tournament Rank Michel Simard Relief Appearances 5 3 Chris Begg Wins 2 2 Chris Begg Innings Pitched 13.1 7 Chris Begg ERA 1.35 10 Chris Mears Wins 2 2 Mike Johnson Saves 1 3 T.J. Burton Saves 1 3
SAN JOSE, CUBA – Baseball Canada’s national senior team qualified for a final Olympic Qualifying tournament thanks to a 3-1 win against Nicaragua today at the 2006 COPABE Americas Olympic Qualifier. The victory against Nicaragua locked up a fourth place finish for Canada at the tournament, allowing Baseball Canada to advance to a wild-card Olympic Qualifying event in Taiwan. A date for the tournament has not yet been established. Cuba and the United States were awarded automatic berths into the 2008 Beijing Olympics by virtue of finishing first and second in the tournament while third place Mexico will also move on to the wild-card tournament. Mike Saunders (Victoria, B.C.) was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI to spark Canada’s offence while Canadian starter Chris Begg (Uxbridge, Ont.) threw a gem on the mound to stymie the Nicaraguan hitters. In an extremely efficient outing to pick up his second win of the tournament, Begg needed only 64 pitches to preserve a 3-1 Canadian lead through 6.1 innings of work. He struck out five while only allowing one walk. Canada opened the scoring in the fifth inning thanks to an RBI single from Saunders while Sebastien Boucher (Ottawa, Ont.) drove in Canada’s second run of the inning on a fielder’s choice. Saunders doubled to right-centre the next inning to score Jeremy Ware (Guelph, Ont.) to cap off the Canadian scoring. Nicaragua threatened in the bottom of the sixth. After having already scored one run in the inning, right fielder Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, Alta.) collected Canada’s fourth timely outfield assist of the tournament, gunning Nicaragua’s Jorge Aurilan down on a close play at the plate to end the inning with two runners left on base. Two Nicaraguan coaches were ejected for arguing the call. Veterans Mike Kusiewicz (Ottawa, Ont.) and Mike Johnson (Edmonton, Alta.) were solid in relief, combining to allow one hit over the final 2.2 innings of a game where Canadian pitchers needed only 84 pitches to earn a victory. Johnson was credited with the save. Canada will now move onto the final Olympic Qualifier where eight teams will compete for the three final spots at the Olympics. In that tournament they will face Mexico, two teams from Europe, two teams from Asia as well as the Australian team and the South African team. Box Score
SAN JOSE, CUBA – Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, Alta.) and Jeremy Ware (Guelph, Ont.) each had a homerun and four RBI as Baseball Canada’s national senior team sailed to a 13-1 thumping of the Dominican Republic today at the 2006 COPABE Americas Olympic Qualifier. Ware crushed a first pitch fastball from relief pitcher Gilberto Calderon for a three-run homerun that represented only a fraction of Canada’s scoring in a seven-run fifth inning that helped Canada make quick work of the Dominican Republic. Ware, who hit a walk-off pinch hit grand slam to beat Panama two days ago, was 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Eight of the nine Canadian players reached base in the fifth inning which saw Canada send 13 batters to the plate as a combination of miscues from the Dominican and hard-hit balls by the Canadians ended the game early after seven innings thanks to the international 10-run mercy rule. Canada took an early 3-1 lead into a three-hour rain delay in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to a solo homerun from David Corrente (Chatham, Ont.), RBI singles by Kevin Nicholson (Vancouver, B.C) and Mike Saunders (Victoria, B.C.). After having already thrown 80 pitches in less than four innings of work, Dominican starter Ronny Rodriguez was replaced by when the teams took back to the field after the delay. The move proved to be a mistake of colossal proportions for the Dominican Republic. Radmanovich, who was 2-for-3 with two runs scored drove a two-run homerun to left centre field to highlight a three-run fourth inning to put Canada up 6-1. Meanwhile, Canadian starter Brett Gray was dealing with the Dominican bats with relevant ease, striking out six and giving up two hits over six strong innings in a game that was abbreviated after seven innings thanks to the international 10-run mercy rule. Michel Simard (Charlesbourg, Qué.) sat the Dominicans down in order to close out what was a must-win game for the Canadians in order to have a shot at moving on to a final Olympic Qualification tournament next year. With a win against Nicaragua Tuesday, Canada would put itself in excellent position to move on to the next qualification tournament. Box Score
HAVANA, CUBA - Cuba used a five-run first inning and a four-run sixth to top Baseball Canada's national senior team 9-0, yesterday at the 2006 COPABE Americas Olympic Qualifier at Latinoamericano Stadium. While the Cuban bats made noise almost instantly to set the tone in the game, it was Cuban pitcher Norbertro Gonzalez who stole the show striking out 13 Canadians while walking only two and giving up four hits in eight innings of work. Cuba's attack was sparked by a two-run homerun to centre field from the bat of Cuban second basemen Yuliesky Gourriel to open the scoring with one out in the first inning. First baseman Alexandre Myette then beat out a force play at second , and designated hitter Osmany Urutia doubled to centre field for two more Cuban runs before the host team batted around the order in the first inning for a 5-0 lead. Canadian starter Eric Cyr (Montreal, Qué) looked good from that point on, retiring the next 12 batters. Cyr went five innings, giving six earned runs while striking out three. The wheels fell off for Canada in the sixth when Cuba scored four more times behind three Canadian errors, two wild pitches and only one base hit to make it 9-0. Eight of the first nine outs recorded by Cuba were strikeouts by Gonzalez, who already had 11 Ks going in to the the sixth inning. That sixth frame saw Canada's best chance to get on the board when Kevin Nicholson (Vancouver, B.C.) walked and Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, Alta.) dropped a perfect bunt to put men on first and second with nobody out. However, Radmanovich was forced out at second base and Jeremy Ware (Guelph, Ont.) hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. With the loss Canada will likely have to win its next two games to advance to the second-chance Olympic Qualification tournament scheduled to be held next year. Canada faces Nicaragua today at 2 p.m. EST before wrapping up the tournament against the Dominican Republic Tuesday. Box Score
Havana, Cuba - Jeremy Ware's (Guelph, Ont.) pinch-hit grand slam homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning, yesterday, capped off Baseball Canada's third comeback win of the Americas Olympic Qualifier as the team scored 11 times in the final two innings to beat Panama 15-12 at Santiago Mederos Stadium. Ware's heroics were a result of the final roster move in a game that saw Canadian skipper Terry Puhl make some of the boldest managerial moves anyone will ever see in a ball game. After going down 6-0 and 9-4, Kevin Nicholson (Vancouver, B.C.) drilled a two-run shot over the right field wall to cut the Panamanian lead down to three runs at 9-6. With two men retired in the inning, Pierre-Luc Laforest (Hull, Qué.) was hit by a pitch and Emerson Frostad singled to left. Starting catcher David Corrente, who was hitting sixth in the lineup was slated to come to the plate already having gone 4-for-4 in the game up to that point. However, Puhl elected to bring the left-handed hitting Reed Eastley (Brandon, Manitoba) into the game to face the right-handed Panamanian reliever Jorge Cortes. Eastley crushed the first pitch he saw from Cortes deep to right-centre field for a three run homerun to tie the game at 9-9 going into the final inning. Canadian closer T.J. Burton (Ottawa, Ont.) struggled in the final frame, allowing a lead off double to Sherman Obando, walking three of the next four batters and giving up a base hit up the middle to Adolfo Rivera to give Panama what seemed to be a comfortable 12-9 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. But as opposing teams are quickly finding out, much to their dismay, no lead is safe against Baseball Canada´s Cardiac Canucks, who have now won two games in walk-off fashion and one in the 10th inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Canada loaded the bases with one out, sending the Cuban fans into chants of "Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da." Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-10 and Emerson "The Ice man" Frostad was a clutch performer once again, driving home Nicholson on a single to right field to make it 12-11. The bases were loaded for Eastley, the hero of the game up to that point. But despite his three-run game-tying homerun one inning earlier Puhl pinch hit Ware for Eastley and Canada won the game in the most amazing fashion. As a result, Canada was 6-for-6 with 7 RBI, 3 runs scored, two homeruns and a double out of the six-slot in the lineup. The win against Panama kept alive Canada's hopes of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Canada's next match-up is against undefeated Cuba, Saturday at 8 p.m. EST. Box Score
HAVANA, CUBA – Baseball Canada’s national senior team now has its sights on the second round of the 2006 Americas Olympic Qualifier after cruising past Brazil, 7-3 today, at Santiago Mederos Stadium. David Corrente (Chatham Ontario) crushed a three-run homerun to straight away centre field to cap off a four-run Canadian first inning to put the Canadians out in front. Starter Chris Begg (Uxbridge, Ont.), who arrived in Havana just one day ago managed well with the lead, striking out seven Brazilians with only one walk and five hits allowed. Begg, whose only blemish was allowing a solo homerun to Brazil’s second baseman Reineldo Sato in the fourth, helped Canada take a 5-1 lead into the eight inning. Canada added a pair of insurance markers in the eighth inning when Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) hit a ball to the right side that skipped off of Sato’s glove and into right field, allowing Emerson Frostad (Calgary, Alta.) and Mike Saunders (Victoria, B.C.) to come around to score. Brazil mounted a slight comeback in the ninth thanks to a two-run double by designated hitter Wilson Watanose with one out. However, Watanose was thrown out by left fielder Mike Saunders trying to stretch the extra base hit into a triple. Canadian Closer Chris Mears then got first baseman Ronoldo Ono to ground out to Clapp to end the game. Mike Kusiewicz (Ottawa, Ont.), who only faced one batter in the game, also played a pivotal role in the game, striking out Brazilian Luis Camargo with the bases loaded to end top of the eighth inning. Canada now advances to the second round of the tournament, where they will play a second round robin series against the four teams that advanced in the opposite pool. Teams carry over their records against teams who have advanced into the second round. Game against teams who have not made it through will be wiped off the slate. The teams with the two best records following the second round will earn berths into the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, while the third and fourth place teams will be relegated to a second-chance tournament which will be held in 2007. Canada has the day-off tomorrow and will play its first second round game Friday. Second round match-ups have not yet been determined. Box Score
