Hebert finds redemption as Ontario Black secure semifinal berth
Tyrell Hebert gears up for a swing. Photo Credit: Tyler King
By: Daniel McKenzie
Canadian Baseball Network
Scouts at Tournament 12 aren’t just looking for the perfect player. They’re also looking for the player who can make a mistake and not crumble from it.
Ontario Black left-fielder Tyrell Hebert acted that cliché out to a tee on Sunday morning as his team trounced Quebec Blue 10-3 in the final day of round-robin competition at the Rogers Centre.
“Everyone’s going to make mistakes in this game. You see it in the big leagues,” said Black coach Pete Orr. “It’s how you bounce back from them and how you carry yourself after it happens. That’s another thing that scouts are going to look at.”
If that’s the case, Hebert would impress some onlookers with notepads on this day.
In the bottom of the third, with the Black leading 1-0, Blue batter Paul Labelle hit a high fly ball to left field. Hebert tracked it down, got under it, had it in his glove, then didn’t. The ball fell to the ground allowing Blue designated-hitter Marc-Antoine Tremblay to scurry to third.
The error lead to Tremblay scoring on the next play, tying the game at one.
“I have no clue (what happened),” Hebert said. “My glove doesn’t have a deep pocket and I guess it just popped out, but there’s nothing you can do about it. You just gotta recover and you can’t think about it too much.”
The Black regained their lead in the top of the fourth after designated-hitter Malik Williams pulled a double down the left-field line off relief pitcher Ricardo Alvarez de Lugo. Williams advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on an RBI single from Black third-baseman Daniel Carinci.
2-1 Black after four.
The Blue then swung back in the bottom of the inning, taking a 3-2 lead on an RBI double off the bat of Labelle.
That set the stage for Hebert to totally redeem himself.
After pinch-hitter Antonio Cruz hit an RBI double to tie the game at three, Hebert stepped to the plate and smacked an RBI single up the middle to give the Black the lead for good. He added another RBI single in the six-run seventh inning to put the game out of reach, finishing the day 2-for-4 with two RBIs one walk, one stolen base, and a run scored. After all that, the error didn’t really matter.
“It feels great (the game-winning RBI). I love it,” Hebert said. “When I make an error I try to make it up as best I can because I don’t wanna let my team down.”
Coach Orr said he didn’t say too much to Hebert in the dugout after the error, but left him in the game.
“Well in this situation, being a showcase thing, it’s about the players…so we’re not necessarily coaching too much,” he said. “It’s more just about putting them in place for them to get an opportunity to be seen.”
With the loss, Quebec fell to 2-1-1 and will need some help to get a shot at playing another game.
The Black are rolling though and are now 3-1-0 on the tournament and have solidified themselves a spot in the playoff round on Monday.
“We don’t know what time we’re playing yet. We’ll have to wait until tonight to find that out, but hopefully everybody shows up on time tomorrow,” coach Orr said with a smirk. “But yeah it’s great. This is about them getting an opportunity to play in front of scouts and college coaches…they’re playing great and having fun.”