It was another busy week on the diamond for Canadians in college baseball. This week we saw everything from two Canucks go toe-to-toe on the hill to the UBC Thunderbirds dominating their opening conference series.

The latest updates on the boys from the Great White North.

Stewart’s has solid outing:
Devon Stewart (Maple Ridge, BC) had another solid start for Canadian head coach Mike McCrae (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and the Canisius Golden Griffins. This time it was Stewart taking on the Indiana State Sycamores trying to get his team back on track. The Griffs were 6-9 and losers of six of their previous seven heading into the contest. Stewart did his best to right the ship by going seven solid innings, giving up two earned runs with seven strikeouts and three walks. However, that was not enough as the Sycamores took the game 4-0.

 

Stewart solid, but Degano’s better:
Indiana State’s 4-0 over Canisius was in large part thanks to LHP Jeff Degano(Surrey, BC) Degano took to the hill against fellow BC native  [jeff degano] Stewart and was spectacular. Degano went 7 1/3 innings without surrendering a run, scattering two hits, while punching out 10 and issuing just one walk. Overall it was a good day at the Indiana State Tournament for Canadian pitchers.

 

Quantrill headed for Tommy John
It was not the news neither Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) nor the Stanford Cardinals were expecting. Quantrill will have Tommy John surgery ending his 2015 season. The top prospect is slated to undergo the procedure Friday. The 6-foot-3 185 pound right handed sophomore got his college career off to a fantastic start. As a freshman, he posted a 7-5 record in 18 games, 17 starts while posting a 2.68 ERA over 100 2/3 innings pitched.

Quantrill’s first collegiate start was also the Cardinals 2014 season opener and he became the first freshman to start opening day for the Cardinals since 1988 when Mike Mussina was given the honour. The former Ontario Terrier got his 2015 season off to a fast start as well. Through his first three starts he averaged over six innings per start while posting a 2-0 record with a 1.93 ERA. He had struck out 20 and walked eight in 18 2/3 innings of work. Quantrill missed his last scheduled start against the University of Texas because he was “sick and sore” and now the Cardinals will not get him back in game action until this next season.

 

Former Met Marcus leads CALU Pennsylvania
California University of Pennsylvania may only be 3-10 but that is not because of the effort from former Toronto Met David Marcus (Whitby,  [david marcus] Ont.). CALU took on ranked Seton Hill this past weekend and Marcus would have four hits, including a home run in their Game 2 5-4 victory. In Game 1, Marcus was 1-for-3 with a double, Game 2 saw another 1-for-3 performance along with the home run, an RBI and a run scored. Game 3 saw Marcus have a multi-hit game that included an RBI. Not a bad weekend for the junior first baseman. So far on the season through 13 games, all starts, Marcus is hitting .341 with a home run and eight RBIs.

 

Bauml putting Muenster on the map:
If you did not know where Muenster, Sask. was, you should now after reading the BMOC’s. Cole Bauml (Muenster, Sask.) calls the town of less than a 1,000 people home. Bauml was back at it over the last week terrorizing opposing pitchers. First up was the Buckeyes of Ohio State. Bauml went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk against the Big Ten school. Next up was the Dayton Flyers. He would go off in this game, going 4-for-6 with two RBIs, a run and a walk. UC Clermont would be handed the tall task of shutting down Bauml next. He would have a 1-for-3 day with an RBI, two runs and a walk against the Cougars.

 

Kellogg continues to impress:
LHP Ryan Kellogg (Whitby, Ont.) was once again front and centre as the Arizona State Sun Devils came out on top of a tight Pac-12 contest on  [ryan kellogg] the weekend. Kellogg would scatter nine hits over seven innings, giving up three earned runs while striking out four and walking none. It was yet another quality start for the 6-foot-5, 225 pounder. ASU would go on to win the game 4-3 over the Beavers, and would take the series 2-to-1.

 

Onyshko starts versus Harvard:
Freshman lefty Ben Onyshko(Winnipeg, Man.) would get the call to start Game 2 of the Stetson Hatters series against Harvard over the weekend. Onyshko was solid, tossing 4 1/3 innings, giving up two earned runs, striking out four and walking three in the 15-2 victory. It was Onyshko’s fourth start on the year and he currently holds a 0-0 record with a 4.02 ERA.

 

Dressler dominates again:
Steven Dressler (Burlington, Ont.) was magnificent yet again as he led Cisco College to an 8-2 victory over Vernon College. He would last 7 2/3 innings, allowing only one earned run cross the plate during that time. He would also strike out six. Even more impressive than this performance is Dressler’s numbers on the season. The former Ontario Blue Jay sports a 0.58 ERA on the season, which is third lowest in all of the NJCAA among pitchers with a minimum of 31 innings pitched.

 

Robson and Bulldogs open SEC play:
This past weekend was the opening of Southeastern Conference baseball action. Jacob Robson (Windsor, Ont.) pounded out five hits in the three [jacob robson]  game series as the Mississippi State Bulldogs dropped 2-of-3 to the visiting Alabama Crimson Tide. After Game 1 was pushed to Saturday as part of a doubleheader because of weather, Robson went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks in a 10-5 Alabama win. Game 2 saw Robson have a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored while also stealing a base in a 4-1 Bulldog win. Game 3 brought another multi-hit game in a 2-for-3 effort that included a walk and two runs scored. The Bulldogs travel to Lexington, Ky. next weekend to take on Zach Pop and the Kentucky Wildcats.

 

Berube bests #11 UNC:
Marc Berube (Trois Pistoles, Que.) makes a stop on the BMOC after a very impressive start over the weekend. Berube and his Pittsburgh Panthers took to the field to take on the #11 North Carolina Tar Heels and it was Berube who stole the show. He started game three and threw seven innings, giving up just five hits and allowing just one earned run. He also struck out seven Tar Heel hitters while not issuing a free pass. The Panthers would take game three 3-2 in twelve innings and won two of three in the series to improve their record to 8-9 (3-3 ACC.)

 

LeBlanc drives in six:
Freshman INF Charles LeBlanc (Laval, Que.) drove in five runs in a 12-9 Game 1 Pitt win over North Carolina. LeBlanc went 2-for-2 with the five RBIs in the game. He also added an RBI in Game 3 that ended in a Pitt extra inning win. LeBlanc is currently hitting .344 in 17 games to lead the Panthers.

 

Fagnan helps Horned Frogs to victory:
Jeremie Fagnan (Calgary, Alta.) stepped up and led the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs to a huge 10-1 win over Baylor this past  [TCU All Sports Photo Day] weekend. Fagnan would go 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the Game 3 victory. He currently holds a .258 average with one home run and six RBIs on the season. TCU is now 15-2 (3-0 Big 12) and an impressive 10-0 at home this season.

 

Bartnik comes up huge:
It was Jared Bartnik (Surrey, BC) who hit the first of back-to-back-to-back home runs that led to a come from behind Game 1 victory for the UBC Thunderbirds over Simpson University. Game 2 saw Bartnik doing more damage as he went 2-for-5 with a double, another home run, two RBIs and a run scored. Bartnik was not done in Game 3, going 2-for-4. As if his weekend was not impressive enough, Bartnik added a 2-for-4 game in Game 4 that included two more home runs, three RBIs and two runs score. Have a weekend.

 

Firth next up:
Cam Firth (London, Ont.) was the next in line, hitting the second home run of the three consecutive in game one to cue the comeback. He would go 2-for-2 in the game including a double and two RBIs. Firth would add two more hits in the series.

 

Yari’s turn:
So how does Bruce Yari (Waterloo, Ont.) respond to the pressure of coming to the plate after back-to-back home runs in the midst of a
comeback? He rode the momentum and did the same as the two before him, going over the wall to complete the three straight home runs. He would then go 2-for-4 with a run scored in Game 2, 2-for-4 with another home run, a RBI and a run score in game three and 2-for-4 with a run scored in the finale. Not a bad series for the Ontario native.

 

Arthur has five hits in two games:
Outfielder Bryan Arthur (Abbotsford, BC) helped his UBC Thunderbirds to their first two wins as well. He had five hits in the opening two games including a 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs in Game 1. He followed that up in game two with a 2-5 game with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored.

 

Enns has five hits:
Tyler Enns (Winnipeg, Man.) had a 3-for-6 day over Simpson University to help lead UBC to the sweep. He added an RBI in Game 1 and followed that with a 2-for-4 performance in Game 2 with another RBI and run scored.

 

Yes, they pitched well too:
Alex Graham (North Vancouver, BC) also had a standout game as he held Simpson University to just five hits over 7 1/3 innings. He did not give up a run and struck out five. He did not walk a hitter. UBC improved to 21-6 on the year and open up 4-0 in conference play.

 

Terriers round up:
[jordan mountford] Jordan Mountford(Guelph, Ont.) went 1-for-4 with a run scored in the Bryant Bulldogs’ Game 1 against the Coastal Carolina Chantileers over the weekend. After Game 2 was cancelled, Montford had another 1-for-4 game with a pair of RBI’s and a run scored.

Lucas Scocchia(Thunder Bay, Ont.) threw two scoreless innings for the Oakland Golden Grizzlies during a weekend series against Wright State.

Cole Peragine (Belle Ewart, Ont.) went 1-for-5 in the opening game of a series with Binghamton this past weekend. He also drove in and scored a run. He followed that performance with an RBI and run scored in Game 2 and a run scored in Game 3. The Seawolves took the series 2-1,

 

Ontario Blue Jays round up:
Phil Diedrick (Ajax, Ont.) went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored at the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers beat Old Dominion 9-5 and won the Conference USA series.

SS Joey Hawkins (Whitby, Ont.) was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and a run scored for the Missouri State Bears in a win over Kansas State 10-7.

SS Daniel Pinero (Toronto, Ont.) went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs in a loss to Virginia Tech.

 

Toronto Mets round up:
Michael Foster (Pickering, Ont.) had hits in three games this past weekend. Foster went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored versus La Salle. He then went 1-for-2 with three walks and a stolen base against Wagner. He wrapped it up with a 1-for-3 performance with a stolen base and a hit by pitch against Saint Joseph’s.

RHP Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) threw a scoreless inning against Ohio University with a strikeout and a walk.

RHP Christian Botter (Toronto, Ont.) also threw a scoreless inning for the Ohio Bobcats against Kentucky, picking up the win against his Pop and the Wildcats.

 

BMOCs

Week 4 —  Bauml, Shaw, Panas, Lillis-White.

Week 3 — Black, Dressler, Romanin, Foster 

Week 2 — Robson, Doran, Germaine, Martin, Quantrill

Week 1 — Kellogg, Baksh, Guzzo-Foliaro, Gapp, Sardellitti, Harkness, Diedrick

 

Do you know a Big Man on Campus … Maybe a grandson? A son? A nephew or a former player? Email Matt Betts (mattbetts41@gmail.com) with the info or a link for next week’s edition.