Juniors discover treasure of William Sierra, plus Julien, Stovman too

RHP William Sierra (Montréal, Que.), shown here pitching in Australia as a lead-up to last year's World 18U in Osaka, scattered two hits and struck out four over two innings as the Canuck junior knocked off Puerto Rico 11-1.

March 12th, 2016

JNT Spring: Juniors roll past Puerto Rico

By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – The Canadian Junior National Team banged out 11 hits, while four pitchers combined to limit Puerto Rico to one run on five hits as the juniors cruised to an 11-1 win.

GAME INFORMATION
Event: Spring Training
Score: Canada (U18) 11 Puerto Rico 1
Location: Walter Fuller Complex – St. Petersburg, Fla.

Canada U18 Starting Lineup:
1. Edouard Julien – 2B
2. Clayton Keyes - CF
3. Andrew Yerzy – DH
4. Isaac Deveaux - LF
5. Noah Naylor - C
6. Luke Van Rycheghem – 1B
7. Tyler Duncan – RF
8. Steven Moretto – 3B
9. Robbie Holmes – DH
10. Michael Stovman – DH
11. Dondrae Bremner - SS

Starting Pitcher: RHP Connor Angel

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Leadoff hitter Edouard Julien (Québec, Que.) walked in the bottom of the first, stole second and scored on a single off the bat of Isaac Deveaux (Montréal, Que.).

- In the third, the juniors used three hits, including an RBI double off the bat of Michael Stovman (Maple Ridge, BC) to score four runs and take a five run lead. Steven Moretto (Burnaby, BC) led off with a single and later scored , while Julien also singled in the frame and scored on a wild pitch.

- In the sixth, with the juniors still leading by five, Puerto Rico pushed across their only run of the ballgame as they loaded the bases with one out after three consecutive singles before a groundout brought a run in from third base.

- Moretto and Stovman both came up with two run singles in the seventh as the juniors added four runs to take a commanding 9-1 lead. Moretto’s single came with the bases loaded that saw Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) and Luke Van Rycheghem (Kent Bridge, Ont.) score before Stovman’s single plated Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) and Moretto.

- In the eighth, Carter Loewen’s (Abbotsford, BC) sacrifice fly brought in Edouard Julien who had led off the frame with a double, and Clayton Keyes (Calgary, Alta.) followed with a triple and came around to score on an Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont.) single.

JNT HIGHLIGHTS
- Julien was a table setter for the juniors as he went 2-for-3 out of the leadoff hole and scored three runs, while adding a stolen base to his totals.

- Moretto also enjoyed a 2-for-3 day at the plate and drove in a pair, while fellow BC native Stovman was 2-for-2 with three RBI to pace the juniors offensively.

- Connor Angel (Lachine, Que.) was terrific through his three-inning outing as he did not allow a hit and struck out two batters after getting the start on the mound. He walked two batters in the third but managed to get out of the inning without any damage done.

- William Sierra (Montréal, Que.) also turned in a solid performance as he scattered two hits and struck out four over two innings of work.

- Puerto Rico got to reliever Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.) with three hits and a run in the sixth, but the 16 year old came back strong in the seventh getting a double play ball after a runner reached on an error and another groundout to end the inning.

- Loewen knocked in a run with a fly ball in the eighth and also pitched two innings as he allowed just one walk and fanned three over two innings of work.

TEAM LEADERS
Hits: 2, Julien (2/3), Moretto (2/3), Stovman (2/2); 1, Keyes (1/4), Yerzy (1/3), Deveaux (1/4), Naylor (1/2), Van Rycheghem (1/4)
Doubles: 1, Julien, Stovman
Triples: 1, Keyes
Runs: 3, Julien; 2, Moretto; 1, Keyes, Naylor, Van Rycheghem, Davis, Stovman, Bremner
RBI: 3, Stovman; 2, Moretto; 1, Yerzy, Deveaux, Loewen
SB: 1, Julien, Duncan
Strikeouts: 4, Sierra; 3, Loewen; 2, Angel

UP NEXT
The juniors open the professional portion of their schedule Sunday at the Walter Fuller Complex when the Philadelphia Phillies send a group of their minor league prospects to St. Petersburg for a 1:05pm ET game … RHP Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC) is slated to start on the mound … The game can be heard live by visiting radiostpete.com.