March 13th, 2016

JNT Spring: Juniors come up short against Phillies

By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – The Canadian Junior National Team dropped its first game of spring training Sunday, a 6-2 decision to a group of minor league prospects from the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

GAME INFORMATION
Event: Spring Training
Score: Philadelphia Phillies 6 Canada (U18) 2
Location: Walter Fuller Complex – St. Petersburg, Fla.

Canada U18 Starting Lineup:
1. Cooper Davis – CF
2. Adam Hall – SS
3. Clayton Keyes - RF
4. Andrew Yerzy – C
5. Noah Naylor – DH
6. Steven Moretto – DH
7. Brad Aldred – 3B
8. Isaac Deveaux - LF
9. Luke Van Rycheghem – 1B
10. Jason Willow – 2B
11.Soren Graversen -

Starting Pitcher: RHP Josh Burgmann

HOW IT HAPPENED
- A leadoff single in the top of the first followed by a one out triple off JNT starter Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC) gave the Phillies a quick 1-0 lead.

- The Phillies struck again in the second inning as they used a one out walk, stolen base and single to get a runner to third base before a wild pitch brought him in from third.

- With two out in the fourth and reliever Mathieu Deneault-Gauthier (Candiac, Que.) on the mound, an infield single that included a throwing error on the play put a runner in scoring position only to see a single up the middle bring in the third Phillies run of the game.

- The juniors got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth as Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont.) reached with one out on a single and came around to score when the Phillies committed an error.

- The Phillies pulled away in the seventh as and error to lead off hitter followed by a one out single set the stage for a two out double that scored both runners.

- The juniors cut into the Phillies lead in the bottom of the inning as a Clayton Keyes (Calgary, Alta.) one out double scored Adam Hall (London, Ont.) who had reached on a bunt that went for a base hit. The Phillies answered back in the top of the next inning as they used a single, stolen base and a run scoring triple to regain their four-run lead.

JNT HIGHLIGHTS
- Keyes hit his third extra base hit in as many games and he made it count when his double scored a run in the seventh.

- Hall paced the offence for the juniors as he went 2-for-3 with a triple and a run scored. Andrew Yerzy, Michael Stovman (Maple Ridge, BC) and Edouard Julien (Québec, Que.) accounted for the other Junior National Team hits on the afternoon.

- Deneault-Gauthier was solid in his first outing of spring training, as he didn’t allow an earned run over three and one-third innings of work that included one strikeout.

- Reliever Sam Turcotte (Toronto, Ont.) was tagged with one earned run over three innings on the mound that saw him scatter six hits and strikeout one batter.

TEAM LEADERS
Hits: 2, Hall (2/3), Stovman (1/1); 1, Keyes (1/3), Yerzy (1/3), Julien (1/1)
Doubles: 1, Keyes
Triples: 1, Hall
Runs: 1, Hall, Yerzy
RBI: 1, Keyes
Strikeouts: 3, Burgmann; 1, Deneault-Gauthier, Turcotte

UP NEXT
The juniors’ spring training schedule continues Monday at the Walter Fuller Complex when they welcome a group of minor league prospects from the Toronto Blue Jays organization for a 1:05pm ET first pitch … 2015 Pan Am Games gold medalist LHP Shane Dawson (Drayton Valley, Alta.) is expected to start on the mound for the Jays, while LHP Jack DeCooman (North Vancouver, BC) is expected to start for the juniors … The game can be heard live by visiting radiostpete.com.