June 2, 2000

Emond earns weekly honours
Player of the Week, Week 17 Honours


By BOB ELLIOTT
           


 Ben Emond is the only Quebec player still playing as teams wind down their 2000 season towards the NCAA College World Series.

 Emond is one reason the Texas Longhorns, now 44-19, advanced from the NCAA West regional at Packard Stadium in Tempe, Az. Now, the Longhorns will take on Penn State in a best-of-three regional in Austin, Tx., with the winner the series winning a berth in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

 The outfielder drove in two runs and scored two as Texas stayed alive by beating Arizona State Sun Devils 6-4 in 110-degree heat. For his clutch performance Emond (senior, Farnham, Que.) is named the Canadian Player of the Week, the best of the 407 playing south of the border. Emond, a Seminole Junior college transfer was named first team all-conference in the Big 12. He's also the first, second-time winner of the honor.

 How the Longhorns got to the super regional:
 
The Longhorns beat the Creighton Blue Jays 5-4 in the opener, as Emond had a 1-for-4 day. He singled in the first and scored as Texas went up 1-0. Texas then went on to win a rematch against Arizona State 9-7 in the title game, in front of 2,816.
 
The Arizona State Sun Devils beat Texas 3-1 in the double-elimination tournament and needed only to win once more to earn a berth in the Super Regional. Again, Emond was 1-for-4, singling in the seventh.
 
Now, in the elimination side of the bracket, the Longhorns beat the Miami (Ohio) Longhorns 11-1 as Emond went 2-for-5. He singled in a run in the fourth to put Texas up 5-0 and singled in the eighth.
 
In the first meeting with Arizona State, Emond scored twice, had two hits and drove in two runs in the 6-4 win over the Sun Devils. The former MLB Player of the Week, dropped a suicide squeeze (his 19th sacrifice bunt) in the third to put the Longhorns ahead 3-2 in the third and singled to make it 5-2 in the fifth and reached on a bunt single and scored in the seventh.
 
And in the finale, the Hook 'Em Horns edged Arizona State 9-7, as Emond went 2-for-3, with two runs scored and a double, his 10th. His other two at-bats were sacrifice bunts giving him 21 for the season. Emond bunted a runner over in the first, he singled and scored in a third, bunted again in the fourth, doubled and scored in the sixth.

 Emond leads the Longhorns with a .378 average, 10 doubles, three triples and 40 RBIs.

And how Canadians did in tourneys:

_ LF  John Cole (sophomore, Kanata, Ont.) had a pair of hits as the Nebraska Cornhuskers beat the Minnesota Gophers 4-1 at Siebert Field in Minneapolis in front of 3,232, including roughly 1,000-plus red-clad Huskers fans. Cole singled with two out in the fifth. Cole singled in the in the four-run first as the Huskers went ahead fast and stayed ahead for an 8-1 win over the Wichita State Shockers , in 1,127. Nebraska is now 50-15 on the season, marking the first 50-win season in school history. In the opener Nebraska beat Butler Bulldogs 2-1. While Cole was hitless, right fielder Adam Stern (sophomore, London) had a 1-for-4 game against Butler. Cole is hitting .323 with 11 doubles, two triples, two homers and 38 RBIs, while Stern owns a .358 average, 12 doubles, two homers and 43 RBIs.
 
_ SS  Lee Delfino (sophomore, Pickering, Ont.) scored the winning run as the East Carolina Pirates edged the Marist Red Foxes 8-7 in 11 innings at Lafayette, La. After a lead-off walk, Delfino fell behind in the count 0-2 and worked a walk. So, with first and second and none out, a chopper was hit to third, where the third baseman stepped on the base for the force. With two outs, a single to left brought Delfino home with the winning run. In the second inning, Delfino hit a solo home run, his 12th, for a 2-0 Pirate lead. Then, the Pirates were eliminated by the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns 8-5 in the championship game. Delfino got the Pirates off to a fast start when he hit a two-run single in the first inning to tie the game 2-2. Delfino advanced to second on the hit as the left fielder bobbled the ball. After a wild pick-off attempt, Delfino reach third and broke for home two pitches later and was caught stealing on a controversial call. In the ninth, Delfino hit a lead-off double, his ECU single-season record tying 20th double of the year. In the opener, East Carolina thumped Marist 12-3 as Delfino had a 1-for-5 day, singling and scoring in the four-run fourth as the Pirates went up 6-3. The Pirates suffered their first loss to Louisiana-Lafayette 5-3 as Delfino singled in the fourth and singled in the sixth. Delfino, named to the All-Tournament team and a Pirate record-holder for five hits in one game, hit .311 for the season with 20 doubles, a triple, 12 homers and 46 RBIs.
 
_ RHP Robert Findley (freshman, Etobicoke, Ont.) pitched the Seminole Trojans to a 12-2 win over the Florida Community College at the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Col. Seminole beat Allen County 8-0, then Florida and San Jacinto 14-3 before losing 9-4 to Grayson. The Trojans currently sit with a 3-1 record in the tournament and next face San Jacinto. To get to Colorado, Findley pitched a complete-game win, a 7-3 win over Eastern, at the Region II National Junior colleges tourney in Ft. Smith, Ark. Seminole also lost to Rose State 12-9, beat NEO 14-4, Connors 9-4 and Westark 7-4. Findley also pitched in Seminole's 11-3 victory over St. Charles.
 
_ LHP  Jordan Gerk (junior, Kelowna, B.C.) pitched eight innings to give the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles a 4-2 win over the Delaware Blue Hens at the NCAA regional in Oklahoma City, Oak. in front of 2,490. Gerk struck out five, allowed six hits and walked three, while allowing two runs before leaving with a blister on the index finger of his pitching hand. The Golden Eagles lost the opener to 6-5 in the opener and then suffered a 9-7 lose to the Oklahoma Sooners. Gerk finished the season with an 8-5 win and ERA of 4.61. In 19 starts and three saves, Gerk had 103 strikeouts in 113 1/3 innings. Gerk was named to the first team Mid-Continent all-conference team.
 
_ RF John Hawkins (junior, Brockville, Ont.) drove in the lead run with a scoring fly ball in the fourth inning as the Brewton-Parker Barons edged Birmingham-Southern 5-2 in the NAIA World Series at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho. Brewton-Parker dropped a 3-2 decision to the Albertson Coyotes in 10 innings, as Hawkins grounded out in the fourth inning to drive in first run of the game. The Barons finished the season 61-17. In the opener, Hawkins had a 2-for-4 day as the Barons lost to Lewis-Clark 10-4.
 
_ RHP Chris Howay (junior, New Westminister, B.C) received a no-decision for the MeNeese State Cowboys in an 11-5 loss to the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns at Lafayette, La. Howay worked 5 2/3 innings allowing eight hits and five earned runs. He walked three and fanned three, leaving with the score tied 5-5. Southland Conference coaches voted Howay, who led the league in victories, pitcher of the year. Howay was also named to the first team all-star team. The former Canadian Player of the Week was the team leader with an 11-2 mark and a 3.65 ERA. Howay set a single season record by pitching 125 2/3 innings and also led the team in strikeouts with 82. His 11 victories were also a school single season record. He also tied for the SLC lead in complete games with 10 and his 11 wins were second high in the conference.
 
_ LF Matt Huntingford (junior, Vancouver, B.C.) doubled and scored a run as the Florida International Golden Panthers beat Florida Atlantic 7-0 at Mark Light Stadium at the NCAA regional in Coral Gables, Fla. For Huntingford it was his ninth double and gave the Panthers a 2-1 record. Florida International lost the next game 14-4. Huntingford singled and scored as Florida Atlantic whipped Florida International 14-6.
 
_ RHP Scott Jellous (sophomore, Ingersoll, Ont.) was on of three Canadians to finish in the top 50 leaders in the NCAA Division II earned run average list, with a minimum of 45 innings. Jellous, of Dowling, had a 2.21 ERA pitching 73 1/3 innings to rank 19th over-all. One spot behind him was lefty Cole Bertsch (junior, London, Ont.) who had a 2.22 ERA pitching 109 2/3 innings. In the 35th spot was lefty Tim Goheen (junior, Proton Station, Ont.) with a 2.48 ERA in 83 1/3 innings.
 
_ RHP Ryan Koback (freshman, Saskatoon, Sask) was 3-2 with a 3.89 ERA for the Treasure Valley Chukars, 8-6 losers to Salt Lake in St. George, Utah. Treasure Valley opened with an 11-3 loss to Salt Lake, beat North Idaho 6-3 and Utah Valley 6-3 before losing to Salt Lake in the semi-final. Shortstop Steve Sherwin (sophomore, Olds, Alta.) hit .269 with seven doubles and 20 RBIs.
 
_ 3B Geoff McCallum (senior, London, Ont.) enjoyed a 3-for-5 in a 13-10 win over the Auburn Tigers at Atlanta at the NCAA regional. McCallum singled down the right field line in the second, singled through the left side in the fourth and hit an RBI triple in the two-run fifth. Stetson was then eliminated 16-11 by Georgia Tech. McCallum helped out with an infield single in the three-run seventh to narrow the gap to 11-7. Stetson suffered a 24-1 loss to Georgia Tech and McCallum singled and drove in the lead run to break a 4-4 tie in a 9-5 win over Auburn in the opener.
 
_ RP  Gordon O'Brien (sophomore, Montreal, Que.) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts as the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Caguns rallied to beat the McNeese State Cowboys 11-5 at the NCAA regional Lafayette La. McNeese was up 4-0 after two innings, but the Cajuns crept back with a run in the fourth, three runs in the fifth and a tying run in the sixth. Louisiana-Lafayette got the eventual game-winner via strikeout with two outs in the seventh. The Ragins Cajuns beat the top-seeded East Carolina Pirates 5-3 and then 8-5 to advance to the super regional and play
 
_ RP  Judd Richardson (freshman, Caledon, Ont.) pitched a scoreless inning as Miami (Ohio) Redhawks lost 15-7 to the Arizona State Sun Devils at the NCAA Regional at Packard Stadium in Tempe, Az. Richardson pitched a scoreless eighth, walking two and fanning one. Miami beat the Creighton Blue Jays 6-3 and dropped the opener to the Texas Longhorns 11-1.

 
_ LHP John Smeed (sophomore, Medicine Hat, Alta.) worked 5 1/3 innings for the Albertson Coyotes dropped an opening-round NAIA World Series 6-4 victory over Shawnee State at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho. Smeed wound up with a no decision, allowing two runs, while walking four and striking out two. Outfielder Matt Steele (senior, Delta, B.C.) worked a bases-loaded walk on a 3-1 pitch to narrow the Shawnee lead to 4-3 in the eighth inning. Albertson then beat the Brewton-Parker Barons 3-2 in 10 innings and then were eliminated by a 4-3 loss to Indiana Tech.
 
_ 2B Todd Thompson (senior, Trail, B.C.) saw a successful season come to end as the New Orleans Privateers were eliminated in the NCAA regional with a 10-4 loss to Louisiana-Monroe. New Orleans beat Jackson 24-9 and dropped its opened to Louisiana-Monroe 8-3. Thompson hit .342 with 19 doubles, two triples, nine homers and 51 RBIs. He was fourth on the team in batting, third in homers and fourth in RBIs. New Orleans was 1-2 in the regional at Baton Rouge, La., and finished third out of four schools. LSU was first, followed by Louisiana-Monroe and UNO. Jackson State was fourth.
 

 And elsewhere with Canadians:
 
 
_ INF Trevor Rurak (sophomore, Burnaby, B.C.) finished the season with New Mexico batting an even .500. He hit 21 doubles, five triples and eight homers, while driving in 62 runs.
 
Letter of Intent Signings
 
NCAA
Division I

1B Karl Amonite, Essex, Ont., Oakland University (Mich.)
SS Hyung Cho, Scarborough, Ont., Houston (Tx.)
RHP John Cosentino, Richmond Hill, Ont., Niagara University (NY)
RHP Chad Ertel, St. Clements, Ont., Texas Tech (Tx)
LHP Justin Farina, Sarnia, Ont., Miami of Ohio
RHP Tim Grant, Vancouver, B.C., Dartmouth University (NH)
SS-RHP Rowan Lam, Glen Coe, Ont., Canisus College (NY)
INF Pat Nailer, Toronto, Ont., Dartmouth University (NH)
SS Brett Ralph, Raymond, Alta., University of Wyoming
RHP Michael Reiss, Thornhill, Ont., University of Houston (Tx.)
RHP Stephen Reiss,Thornhill, Ont., University of Houston (Tx.)
SS Matt Rogelstad, Coquitlam, B.C., Southeast Louisiana
3B/RHP Scott Thorman, Cambridge, Ont., University of South Carolina
3B-OF Jake Thoms, Toronto, Ont., Albany University (NY)
RHP Tanner Watson, Arnprior, Ont., Northeastern University (Mass.).

 Division II
1B-P Josh Pass, North York, Ont., Savanah State (Ga)
INF Trevor Rurak, Burnaby, B.C., Armstrong Atlantic.

 Junior Colleges
LHP-1B Matt Gunning, Victoria, B.C., Southern Idaho Jr. College
C Cory Agar Brandon, Man., Chipola Jr. College (Fla)
2B Chris Becker, Guelph, Ont., Texarkanna Jr. College (Tx.)
Matt Gunning, Victoria, B.C., Southern Idaho Junior College
OF Geoff Van Toen, Scarborough, Ont., Cerro Cosso Jr. College (Calif.).