Extra Bases - Volume III
By BOB ELLIOTT A lot was on the line for British Columbia.
In addition to the Baseball Canada national senior championships against Quebec, B.C. was fighting for the mythical top dog as the most successful baseball province in the country. B.C. went out in front 6-0 after 3 1/2 innings on the way to 10-8 victory over Quebec.
2B Lance Burrows (Victoria, BC) was 2-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored, while CF Jon Bosnick (Burnaby, BC) was 4-for-4 with an RBI and four runs scored. Trevor Strandlund pitched four innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks for the win, while Mike Sinclair pitched three innings, allowing three runs -- one earned for the save. Danny Girard (Trois-Rivières, QC) was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored for Québec.
The win gave B.C. top spot in the medal race with three golds, two silvers and a bronze. Ontario also won seven medals but had three golds, one silver and three bronze medals. Quebec also racked up seven medals with two golds, four silver and a bronze.
Ontario scored five runs in the third to beat Nova Scotia 10-4 for the bronze. Kris Klassen (Harrow, Ont.) was 4-for-5 with three RBIs. British Columbia scored five times the first and six runs in the bottom of the to beat Ontario 11-1 in one semi-final as Matt Gunning (Victoria, BC) was 2-for-3 with seven RBIs.
Quebec earned its way into the final with a 4-0 win over Nova Scotia as Steven Bélanger (Trois-Rivières, QC) threw a complete-game, two hit shutout.
Ontario edged Manitoba 5-4 in 11 innings in a quarter-final match-up as Thomas Grubb (Wheatley, Ont.) was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Rory Tycoles (Reston, Man.) was 3-for-5 with an RBI for Manitoba.
Nova Scotia took a 6-1 lead into the seventh and held on for a 6-4 win over Alberta in the other quarter-final. Jason Bailey (Dartmouth, NS) pitched a complete game for the win.
Shawn Schaefer pitched a complete game allowing one earned run and striking out four as B.C. beat Ontario 2 6-3. RF Charlie Strandlund knocked in a pair of runs. Dustin Turner struck out 10 in the loss. Andrew Brock then pitched another complete game as B.C., coached by Scott Thompson, edged Newfoundland and Labrador 5-3. DH Brian Briscoe and 3B Dave Auger had two hits and RBIs apiece.
Gunning had two hits, knocking in four runs as B.C. bested Nova Scotia 11-2 to move to 3-0. Bosnick knocked in three runs and Briscoe a pair. Charlie Strandlund worked six innings for the victory. Luke Lampard pitched a no hitter in a 12-0 win over Manitoba. SS Sean Murphy was 4-for-4 with four RBIs, while Bosnick had two hits and knocked in two runs. 3B Sean Hotzak, Briscoe had a pair of hits and knocked in a run. C Kyle Iwata and Charlie Strandlund each added two hits.
PEEWEE WINNERS: Quebec won with a 6-2 victory over British Columbia at Concord Regional Park in Vaughan. Quebec overcame a two-run deficit in the final two innings in their semi-final encounter with the Vaughan Vikings to emerge with a 5-4 victory. British Columbia knocked off Ontario 7-1 to reach the gold-medal game.
Ontario, represented by Windsor beat the Vikings 11-5 to win bronze. Against Quebec, which entered the semi-final unbeaten, including a 16-7 win over Vaughan in a pool play, the Vikings committed two errors in the final two frames that proved to be their undoing. Shawn Lee pitched the first four innings for the Vikings before giving way to Geoffrey Seto, who took the loss.
"Our guys battled and showed a lot of heart. The kids did everything we as a coaching staff asked of them. All 17 of them," said Vaughan coach Dirk Drieberg.
A highlight for the teams was visiting the Rogers Centre and seeing a Blue Jays game and meeting manager Cito Gaston.
MEDAL STANDINGS: (eight champions declared): B.C. 3-3-1 Ontario 3-1-3 Quebec 2-4-1 Alberta 0-0-1 New Brunswick 0-0-1 Saskatchewan 0-0-1
BEST COLLEGE SUMMERS: Lefty Shane Davis (Belmont, Ont.) continued where he left off his all-American rookie year at Canisius College for coach Mike McRae (Niagara Falls, Ont.). Davis was named pitcher of the year for the Glens Falls Golden Eagles in the New York college league. Davis was 5-0 in eight starts as he walked eight and struck out 31. He held opposing hitters to a .171 average. Both Baseball America and Perfect Game rated him as the second-best prospect in the league.
SS Jeremiah Sammy (Markham, Ont.) was the sixth-ranked PG prospect in the Jayhawk League playing for the Liberal Bee Jays impressing scouts and coaches with his play in the field. Sammy is a senior at Lamar University. Baseball America ranked him ninth.
RHP Leslie Williams (Scarborough, Ont.) was PG's 16th best prospect in the Jayhawk League with the Joplin Slashers.
2B Kevin Mailloux (Windsor, Ont.) was rated PG's 16th best prospect in the Coastal Plains summer college league. The Canisius senior infielder hit .324 with 13 homers and 46 RBIs in 54 games for the Forest City Owls.
2B Chris Bisson (Orleans, Ont.) was the 23rd ranked PG prospect in the New York college league. Bisson hit .301 with three homers and 18 RBIs for the Amsterdam Mohawks. Bisson is entering his sophomore year at Kentucky. Bisson stole 17 bases walking 25 times and striking out 33 times. Bisson was earned New York Collegiate league second-team honors.
OF Chad Stang (Surrey, BC) was the 29th best prospect in the New York league. Stang hit .315 with three doubles, three triples and 13 RBIs in 39 games. He's headed to his sophomore year with the Midland Chaparrals.
DRAFT WRAP: While 29 drafted players signed in 2007, our count has 16 Canadians who were drafted in June signing, including the first 11.According to scouts a lot of money was left on the table:
Marcus Knecht (Toronto, Ont.), a 23th round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers left a $300,000 package on the table to attend Oklahoma.
Carter Bell (Courtenay, BC), a 22nd pick of the San Francisco Giants, ignored a $150,000 package to attend Oregon State University.
Lionel Morrill (Crows Nest Pass, Alta.), a 24th pick of the Minnesota Twins, turned down a six figure offer to play at the College of Southern Idaho.bAs did Luke Wilson (Windsor, Ont.) who chose to attend Rice Univerisy on a football scholarship and play tight end. Wilson will try and be a two-sport man, combining baseball with football.
ONTARIO CHAMPS: Jacob Chiaravalle pitched the Hamilton Cardinals to the Baseball Ontario bantam title and the Lee Nantais trophy at Leaside's Talbot Park. Chiaravalle, normally a centre fielder, hit a two-run single in the sixth to lock up the win and won most valuable player honours. Tim Black pitched a shut out in the semi final game with London Badgers and was selected most outstanding pitcher, Hamilton was coached by Gord Thompson.
MIDGET: Lefty Robert Cooper pitched Tecumseh to a 4-2 win over the Toronto Mets in the OBA midgets ending a 37-game, Mets win streak in OBAs, eliminations and nationals dating back to 2006. The Windsor Selects won the title with a 5-1 win over the Mets.
MINOR BANTAM: Right fielder Damion Smith did it all for Windsor Riverside in a 5-4, 10-inning win over the West Toronto Wildcats in the minor bantams at Etobicoke. Smith made a gave-saving catch in the sixth and then hit a two-run single in the 10th. Tyler Whealy pitched nine innings and allowed two runs for West Toronto. Windsor beat Pickering 12-0, West Toronto 6-2, the Mississauga Majors 11-1 and Windsor Stars 6-2 and 15-5. Chris Horvath won the tournament MVP award, while catcher Jay Perisic player of the game in the final. West Toronto only losses were to the champs, beating Brampton 9-3, Mississauga North 10-3, Mississauga Southwest 2-0 and Brampton 4-2.
PEEWEE: After being knocked out of the eliminations in straight games and losing the opener to the Georgetown Eagles, the Whitby Chiefs ran the table to win the OBA peewee honours. Whitby beat Vaughn 9-7 with two in the seventh on J.D. Osborne's double, then knocked off Hamilton 7-5 scoring six in the seventh with Andrew Zupancic driving in the game winner and Trevor Cump got the win in a 9-3 win against Brampton. Evan (Spud) Webb beat Etobicoke 5-1, Osborne beat Richmond Hill 9-5 and Whitby beat Richmond Hill again 12-4. Osborne had three wins and a save.
MINOR PEEWEE: Gareth Morgan hit a walk-off homer as North York took the minor peewee honours with a 6-4 win over Georgetown at Tom Chater Park. Austin O'Boyle gained the win. North York beat Burlington 3-2 as Jason Rhynold got the win, knocked off the Windsor Stars 14-1 with David DeLazzari the winner and Waterloo 10-4 as Ellis Gerussi-Turner won. Michael Batista got the win and Morgan the save in a 9-8 win over Georgetown to move to 4-0. O'Boyle had the win against Markham 10-3 and Batista beat Mississauga North 4-1. No. 300: Brock Badgers coach Jeff Lounsbury recorded his 300th career win with an 8-0 win over the McMaster Marauders. Transfers from south of the border include Southern Nazerene's Tim Sogan, a Hamilton outfielder. Others are Adam Cholewka (Canisius), Mike Anderson (Burlington Community College), Jason Ermers (Benedictine College), Craig Jacques (Blue Ridge CC), Ryan Langdon (Erie CC) and Justin Tamane (Erie). Please drop us a line.
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