Oct. 5th, 2016

Fall Instructional League: Jays top juniors

By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
DUNEDIN, Fla – The Junior National Team played their annual Fall Instructional League game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin. The Jays came out on the winning end of a 7-4 final as they outhit the juniors, 10-8.

GAME INFORMATION
Event: Fall Instructional League
Score: Toronto Blue Jays 7 Canada (U18) 4
Location: Bobby Mattick Complex – Dunedin, Florida

Canada U18 Starting Lineup:
1. Cooper Davis – CF
2. Edouard Julien – 2B
3. Adam Hall – SS
4. Noah Naylor - C
5. Lucas Parente – RF
6. Dondrae Bremner – DH
7. Jason Willow – 3B
8. Clayton Keyes – DH
9. Rhys Cratty – DH
10. Damiano Palmegiani – 1B
11. Denzel Clarke - LF

Starting Pitcher: LHP Wesley Moore

HOW IT HAPPENED
- After two scoreless innings, JNT starter Wesley Moore (Surrey, BC) hit a batter in the third who later stole second and scored on a double to put the Jays in front, 1-0.

- The juniors pulled even in the fourth and it was Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) who got things going as he singled and stole second to move into scoring position before Adam Hall (London, Ont.) drove him in on a single.

- After the Jays went up 3-1 on the strength of three straight singles, the juniors scored a run in the fifth as Lucas Parente (Burlington, Ont.) walked and stole second before scoring on a Clayton Keyes (Calgary, Alta.) double.

- A solo home run off of reliever Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.) in the fifth put the Jays back in front by two before the juniors added a run in the sixth. Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC) and Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) both drew walks before Cooper Davis grounded out to advance the runners, while Edouard Julien (Québec, Que.) followed with a ground out to score Palmegiani.

- The Jays added two runs off reliever Austin Brown (Powell River, BC) in the bottom of the inning as he walked one and gave up three singles before Rhys Cratty (Langley, BC) singled and scored on a Denzel Clarke single in the eighth to make it 6-4.

- The Jays would go on to add a run in the bottom of the inning, coming off reliever Landon Leach (Pickering, Ont.), as a sac fly, after a base hit and two walks, brought in the Jays’ seventh run.

JNT HIGHLIGHTS
- JNT starter Moore flashed two scoreless frames to start the game and finished his three-inning outing with three strikeouts.

- The juniors strung together eight hits on offence with Dondrae Bremner (Toronto, Ont.) collecting two of them.

TEAM LEADERS
Hits: 2, Bremner (2/3); 1, Davis (1/2), Hall (1/4), Keyes (1/3), Cratty (1/3), Palmegiani (1/3), Clarke (1/2)
2B: 1, Keyes
Runs: 1, Davis, Parente, Cratty, Palmegiani
RBI: 1, Julien, Hall, Keyes, Clarke
Stolen Bases: 1, Davis, Parente
Strikeouts: 3, Moore; 2, Brown; 1, Abram, Leach

UP NEXT
Due to the weather that is expected to hit Florida later Thursday, the Junior National Team’s Fall Instructional League Camp is on hold for the time being. In addition to the Thursday game, Friday’s is also cancelled, while both weekend games could be affected as well. Schedule changes for the duration of the camp will be posted on baseball.ca and on Baseball Canada’s Twitter account (twitter.com/baseballcanada) when they are made available.