Avoine goes the distance to drive Quebec past Prairies
Pierre-Olivier Avoine prepares to deliver to Prairies Purple. Photo Credit: Tyler King
By: Kirk Budden
Canadian Baseball Network
Quebec's late-inning win early Saturday carried into their second game of the day against the Prairies. Quebec Blue beat the Prairies Purple 4-2 as a pair of early runs helped secure their second win of the day.
Boxscore: Quebec Blue 4 Prairies Purple 2
The Prairies had opportunities to capitalize on Quebec, but starting pitcher Pierre-Olivier Avoine was able to hold them down. Avoine pitched a complete game only giving up five hits and two earned runs, while collecting 11 strikeouts and allowing a single one walk. Avoine got into a bit of trouble in the fifth inning giving up two runs, but battled through with two strikeouts to finish off the frame. Head Coach Robert Fatal was depending on Avoine’s performance.
“We have a short bullpen so (Avoine) playing how he did puts us in a great position to play three or four of the younger guys tomorrow,” Fatal said. “(Avoine) doing what he did today sets us up really well for Monday.”
The Prairies were pitching by committee as they used three different pitchers - Ryan Olchoway, Tyler McWillie and Andrew Asselin.
Quebec’s bats were able to take advantage with runners on base as they put up four runs on five hits. It was McWillie that took most of the damage getting hit four times, walking three batters, giving up three earned runs without recording a strikeout over two innings.
Quebec seemed to rally of off their seventh inning win earlier in the day as they scored in the first inning on William Perrin’s RBI single. Quebec followed that up with a run in the third on an Anthony Marcano single and a two-run double by Edouard Julien in the fourth. Edouard Savoie also had a single as part of Quebec's five-hit day.
“We were just going up with a very simple approach at the plate. We’re a team that likes to hit higher velocity and we got that today,” Savoie said. “I was just going up with a thought that anything is good. No difference between a triple, double or base hit.”
Coach Fatal believed it was a matter of time for the bats to get going like this and was expecting it to continue from the last game.
“These guys have been off for three weeks, it just took some time to get the timing back and get adjusted to the velocity they like,” Fatal said. “They now need to keep that tempo and keep it up for the rest of the weekend.”
Winning both of their games Saturday, Quebec Blue (2-0-1) are playing Ontario Black (1-0-0) tomorrow morning at 9 am. Prairies Purple (0-2-1) will compete in the 2 pm game against British Columbia Orange (1-0-0).