Leroux pitches Canada to first, face Mexico in quarters
Nov. 15, 2015
Premier 12: Canada clinches first, will face Mexico in quarters
By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
TAICHUNG, Taiwan- Chris Leroux (Mississauga, Ont.) tossed seven strong innings on the mound, Jordan Lennerton (Langley, BC) drove in a pair of runs and Sean Jamieson (Kitchener, Ont.) belted a late homer for good measure as Canada defeated the Netherlands, 3-1 to stay unbeaten at the WBSC Premier 12.
The win gives Canada a perfect 5-0 record and the first seed in Group A and sets up a quarterfinal match-up against Mexico tomorrow (12:35pm CST/11:35pm EST on November 15) at Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung. Mexico will travel from Taipei as the fourth seed in Group B.
“We finished first in our pool, which is what we wanted to accomplish, but now all games are must win so we’ll have to get our minds into that mode quickly,” said Canada manager Ernie Whitt. “Our pitching and defense was there tonight and we found ways to score runs.”
Canada received a stellar effort on the mound from Leroux who fanned eight batters over seven innings of work, while allowing just one run on five hits.
Leroux’s effort combined Canada’s strong defensively play and timely hitting is beginning to become a trademark that this Canadian team is known for.
“Chris was outstanding. He gave us exactly what we wanted out of him,” explained Whitt. “As we go forward, I always say we’re going to win this thing with pitching and defense. We scratch out a couple runs, then our pitching takes over and we hold them in check.
“You look at the Netherlands and they’re probably the best offensive team we’ve seen, top to bottom, and we were able to shut them down.”
Leroux and Diegomar Markwell, the former Blue Jays farm hand, from the Netherlands went to toe-to-toe over the first five innings until the sixth when Lennerton’s two run double scored Skyler Stromsmoe (Etzikom, Alta.) and Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC). On a 1-1 count, Lennerton ripped a double down the right field line that easily scored both runners.
The Netherlands were quick to respond as they strung together a pair of hits in the bottom of the inning, including an RBI double, to cut Canada’s lead in half.
Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.) came into the game in the eighth and got into trouble after giving up a lead off single and hitting a batter with one out, but managed to escape unscathed after getting a double play ball to short to end the frame.
Jamieson added a solo homer when he led off the eighth with a blast that cleared the wall in left-centre and Dustin Molleken (Regina, Sask.) came on for the ninth and earned the save.
“This was a typical game for us,” added Whitt. “Naturally we’d like to see a bit more offence, but as long as our pitching and defense are there, we’ll find ways to score runs.”
UP NEXT
Canada will face Mexico tomorrow in the quarterfinals at 12:35pm CST/ 11:35pm EST on Nov. 15th … LHP Scott Diamond (Guelph, ON) will start on the mound for Canada.
CANADA 3 (5-0), NETHERLANDS 1 (3-2)
Nov 15, 2015 at Taichung (Intercontinental)
CANADA
ab r h rbi bb so po a lob
JAMIESON Sean ss 3 1 1 1 0 1 1 2 1
ORR Pete 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
O’NEILL Tyler lf 3 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
LENNERTON Jordan 1b 4 0 1 2 0 1 7 1 0
TOSONI Rene rf 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
KJELDGAARD Brock dh 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GREEN Taylor ph/dh 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
DEGLAN Kellin c 3 0 1 0 0 0 12 0 0
GILLIES Tyson cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2
STROMSMOE Skyler 2b 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 0
LEROUX Chris p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
AUMONT Phillippe p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MOLLEKEN Dustin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 30 3 4 3 2 7 27 9 5
NETHERLANDS
ab r h rbi bb so po a lob
ODUBER Randolph F.J. cf 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
GARIA Christopher G. lf 4 1 1 0 0 2 3 0 2
DE CASTER Yurendell 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
BALENTIEN Wladimir R dh 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1
SMITH Curt S. 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 10 1 0
SAMS Kalian R. rf 4 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 2
ZARRAGA Shawn J. c 4 0 0 0 0 3 7 0 0
STATIA Hainley C. 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0
JONES Andruw R. B. ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SCHOOP Sharlon R.E. 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DAAL Carlton A. ss 3 0 2 0 0 1 1 2 0
MARKWELL Diegomar R. p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
SULBAR N Juancarlos p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BOLSENBROEK Mike p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 31 1 6 1 0 12 27 10 6
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
CANADA.............. 000 002 010 - 3 4 0
NETHERLANDS......... 000 001 000 - 1 6 1
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E - DE CASTER. DP - CAN 2. LOB - CAN 5; NED 6. 2B - LENNERTON; BALENTIEN; SMITH. HR - JAMIESON. HBP - DEGLAN; STROMSMOE; ODUBER 2; DE CASTER. SH - JAMIESON. SB - ODUBER. CS - TOSONI.
CANADA
ip h r er bb so wp bk hbp ibb ab bf fo go np
LEROUX Chris W,2-0 7.0 5 1 1 0 8 0 0 2 0 25 27 4 10 92
AUMONT Phillippe 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 4 0 1 10
MOLLEKEN Dustin S,3 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 14
NETHERLANDS
ip h r er bb so wp bk hbp ibb ab bf fo go np
MARKWELL Diegomar R. L,0-1 5.2 3 2 2 2 3 0 0 1 1 19 23 6 7 76
SULBAR N Juancarlos 2.1 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 8 8 2 3 21
BOLSENBROEK Mike 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 4 1 0 15
Win - LEROUX (2-0). Loss - MARKWELL (0-1). Save - MOLLEKEN (3).
HBP - by LEROUX (ODUBER); by LEROUX (ODUBER); by MARKWELL (STROMSMOE); by AUMONT (DE CASTER); by BOLSENBROEK (DEGLAN). Inherited runners/scored: SULBARN 2/0. Pitches/strikes: LEROUX 92/62; AUMONT 10/6; MOLLEKEN 14/11; MARKWELL 76/45; SULBARN 21/19; BOLSENBROEK 15/8.
Umpires - HP: PATILLO M (USA) 1B: MENDOZA J (NCA) 2B: YANADA M (JPN) 3B:
Start: 18:35 Time: 2:31 Attendance: 218
Weather: clear and warm Game notes: Scorers - WINKLER Stephanie (GER), DE LEON Andres (PAN), STEIJGER Linda (NED) TC - NAGY David (AUS), MEDINA Pedro (CUB)
POS TEAM GP W-L AVG GB
Group A
1. CANADA 5 5-0 1.000 _
2. CUBA 5 3-2 .600 2.0
3. NETHERLANDS 5 3-2 .600 2.0
4. PUERTO RICO 5 2-3 .400 3.0
5. CHINESE TAIPEI 5 2-3 .400 3.0
6. ITALY 5 0-5 .000 5.0
POS TEAM GP W-L AVG GB
Group B
1. JAPAN 5 5-0 1.000 _
2. UNITED STATES 5 3-2 .600 2.0
3. SOUTH KOREA 5 3-2 .600 2.0
4. MEXICO 5 2-3 .400 3.0
5. VENEZUELA 5 2-3 .400 3.0
6. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 5 0-5 .000 5-0