JNT Extended Spring: Nats defeat juniors in extended finale

April 23rd, 2016

By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Junior National Team went toe-to-toe with a prospects squad from the Washington Nationals organization in the hit department, but where it mattered on the scoreboard they fell short as the Nats earned a 9-1 win. The loss ends the extended spring training trip with players and staff returning home tomorrow.

GAME INFORMATION
Event: Extended Spring Training
Score: Washington Nationals 9, Canada (U18) 1
Location: ESPN Wide World of Sports – Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Canada U18 Starting Lineup:
1. Cooper Davis – CF
2. Adam Hall – DH
3. Noah Naylor – C
4. Andrew Yerzy – EH
5. Jason Willow – LF
6. Dondrae Bremner – SS
7. Steven Moretto – 3B
8. Luke Van Rycheghem – 1B
9. Isaac Deveaux – EH
10. Michael Stovman – EH
11. Tyler Duncan - RF
12. Edouard Julien – 2B

Starting Pitcher: LHP Wesley Moore

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The juniors opened the scoring in the bottom of the first and it was Adam Hall (London, Ont.) who came up with his third triple of the week with one out and scored when Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) followed with a single.

- The Nats got the run back quick as a lead off homer in the top of the second off JNT starter Wesley Moore (Surrey, BC) tied the score.

- In the fourth, the Nats used a walk, single and error with reliever William Sierra (Montréal, Que.) on the mound to take a one run lead before scoring twice in the fifth after a walk and a pair of back-to-back RBI singles.

-Reliever ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.) ran into some trouble in the sixth as the Nats used four singles and took advantage of an error to put across four runs to take an 8-1 lead.

- The Nats would go on to add another run in the eighth coming on an error, passed ball and RBI single.

JNT HIGHLIGHTS
- Hall’s triple and 1-for-3 performance put an exclamation point on his week that saw him finish with a .400 batting average in eight games (10-for-25).

- The juniors smacked out nine hits to the Nationals ten with Dondrae Bremner (Toronto, Ont.) and Steven Moretto (Burnaby, BC) each going 2-for-3.

- Only four of the Nationals’ nine runs were earned. Moore, Tim Walters (Gibsons, BC) and Sierra each tossed one inning with zero earned runs allowed, while Landon Leach (Pickering, Ont.) threw two innings without an earned run and struck out three.

TEAM LEADERS
Hits: 2, Bremner (2/3), Moretto (2/3); 1, Hall (1/3), Naylor (1/3), Willow (1/2), Deveaux (1/3), Stovman (1/3)
Runs: 1, Hall
Triples: 1, Hall
RBI: 1, Naylor
Strikeouts: 3, Leach; 1, Moore, Sierra, Abram

UP NEXT
The Junior National Team program will reconvene May 19-27 for the annual Dominican Summer League tour before finishing the summer season with a series against the Cuban U18 National Team in Havana from July 5-11.