BMOC Week 20
By Matt Betts
The college baseball season is into the final stretch and Canadians are still making headlines.

This week features a participant in the Division I College World Series and All-Americans. Here is the roundup of the past week.

Boyd is Omaha bound
The Arizona Wildcats heading back to the College World Series for the first time since capturing the national championship in 2012 and Louis Boyd (North Vancouver, BC) is playing a huge part. They were in tough trying to gain a berth as they had to go through a Super Regional in Starkville, Miss. against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Game 1 was as good as advertised between the two national powers. It was a scoreless game until the sixth when Arizona scratched one across. That was all the offence needed as the Wildcats went on to win the game 1-0. Boyd was 1-for-3 in the win. 

Game 2 didn’t disappoint either as it went 11 innings. Arizona used three runs in the eighth and another in the ninth to erase a 5-1 Mississippi State lead and walked it off in the bottom of the 11th. Boyd again chipped in with a hit in the deciding game sending the Wildcats to Omaha, Neb. It is Arizona’s 17th trip to the national championship tournament. 

Boyd is currently hitting .259 in 57 games, 51 starts. He is not the only Canadian that has played a role in the teams success. Jimmy Van Ostrand (Vancouver, BC) is the teams director of player development. Van Ostrand finished his playing career in 2013 with the Syracuse Chiefs. It won’t be easy for the Wildcats to capture another national title as they square off with the Miami Hurricanes in Game 1 of the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. 

Robson’s season comes to heartbreaking end
It wasn’t a happy ending for Jacob Robson (Windsor, Ont.) and the Mississippi State Bulldogs as they opposed Louis Boyd’s Arizona Wildcats in the Super Regional. Robson would be held without a hit in the two games but does finish the season with an impressive .321 average with a home run, 24 RBIs and 42 runs scored. He also tallied a .414 OBP and a .413 SLG to go along with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Mississippi State finishes their season with a 44-18-1 record. Robson was named a 2016 Hammer Strength All-American and was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the eight round, 235th overall in the 2016 MLB draft.

Bigras and BC take Miami to the limit
It was a disappointing finish to a solid year for Mitch Bigras (Sarnia, Ont.) and the Boston College Eagles. They were in Coral Gables, Fla. for their Super Regional to take on the Miami Hurricanes. In Game 1 the Hurricanes would come out victorious with a 12-7 decision. With their back against the wall Bigras came up huge with a 2-for-4 game with a pair of RBIs in a 5-3 Eagles win. It wasn’t meant to be however, as Miami would take the winner-take-all Game 3 by a 9-4 score. Bigras would walk and score a run in that one. He finishes the year with a .261 average with a home run, 14 RBIs, 14 runs scored, three stolen bases, a .353 OBP, .330 SLG and a .991 fielding percentage. Boston College finishes with a 35-22 record.

UBC still making noise
If you thought you heard the last of the UBC Thunderbirds, think again. Alex Webb (Surrey, BC) and Curtis Taylor (Port Coquitlam, BC) recently picked up some honours. Webb has been awarded the CoSIDA Academic All-American Player of the Year award. He had a 3.75 GPA in Electrical Engineering. He wasn’t done there though as he was also named a 2nd team NAIA All-American. He finished the year 10-1 record with a 1.38 ERA.

Taylor was named an honourable mention for the All-American team. He finished his season with a 9-4 record and a 1.96 ERA.

Both players were selected in the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Taylor was picked in the 4th round, 119th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks while Webb was selected in the nint round, 258th overall by the Cincinnati Reds.

Leblanc one of the nations best
Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) was recently named a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-American and was a 1st team selection to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Region team. Earlier in the year he was the first Pittsburg Panther to earn 1st Team All-ACC honours and was a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award. The Brooks Wallace Award is given annually to the nations top shortstop. He finished his season with a team leading .405 average with two home runs, 46 RBIs, 45 runs scored, seven stolen bases, a .494 OBP, .513 SLG and a .939 fielding percentage. Leblanc was also selected in the 4th round, 129th overall to the Texas Rangers.

Toro an All-American, Pelletier gets honourable mention
Abraham Toro-Hernandez (Greenfield Park, Que.) was recently named a NJCAA Division I All-American for Seminole State Community College (OK). He hit .439 with 20 home runs, 86 RBIs, 94 runs scored and eight stolen bases in 55 games.

His teammates Louis-Philippe Pelletier (Montreal, Que.) was a honourable mention for the All-American teams. Pelletier hit .445 with 24 home runs, 65 RBIs, 84 runs scored and 16 stolen bases in 54 games. Both were freshman this year.

Both were also selected by the Houston Astros in this years draft. Toro-Hernandez went in the 5th round, 157th overall while Pelletier went in the 20th round, 607th overall.

And one more makes two
While there is one Canadian in Omaha, there will be two coaches. Besides Van Ostrand with Arizona, coach Lars Davis (Grand Prairie, Alta.) is a volunteer assistant coach with the University of Florida. 

Despite not a lot of games going on and many seasons being over Canadians continue to make noise on the college baseball scene. Louis Boyd is off to the College World Series and many other Canadians garnered significant honours. There is never a dull moment right up to the end in the college baseball world. Canadians continue to be key contributors to their teams. Check back next week to see how Boyd does and any other honours that may come a Canadian players way.

If you know of someone who is deserving of a mention in this weekly column, please email Matt Betts @ mattbetts41@gmail.com