Balazovic, DeCooman, Sierra, Turcotte impress in DH split

Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) did not allow an earned run or walk a batter facing the Dominican Summer League Twins scattering three hits and striking out four He retired 12 in a row at one point.

May 20th, 2016

Dominican Summer League: Pitching impressive as juniors split doubleheader

By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS/BOCA CHICA, DR – Four Junior National Team pitchers toed the rubber Friday to combine for 18 innings of work and just one earned run was charged. Unfortunately it game on a walk off single as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the juniors 2-1 in the second game, but prior to that, the juniors earned a 10-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers Dominican club. The Junior National Team’s record through three games now sits at 2-1.

GAME ONE
Score: Canada (U-18) 10 DSL Brewers 2
Location: Milwaukee Brewers Dominican Complex – San Pedro de Macoris, DR
Weather: 30 degrees Celsius, A few clouds

Canada 18U Starting Lineup:
1. Cooper Davis - CF
2. Dondrae Bremner - SS
3. Adam Hall - DH
4. Andrew Yerzy – DH
5. Clayton Keyes - LF
6. Michael Stovman - DH
7. Jason Willow – 3B
8. Robbie Holmes – 1B
9. Luke Van Rycheghem - C
10. Victor Cerny - DH
11. Edouard Julien – 2B
12. Terrell Rogers - RF

Starting Pitcher: RHP Jordan Balazovic

HOW IT HAPPENED
- With two out in the top of the first Adam Hall (London, Ont.) reached on a hit by a pitch before both teams were sent off the field with heavy rain falling. Once the skies cleared, the juniors kicked it into high gear as Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont.) laced a double to the gap in left-centre to score Hall before Clayton Keyes (Calgary, Alta.) walked. Michael Stovman (Maple Ridge, BC) then followed with a double to score Yerzy, while Jason Willow’s (Victoria, BC) single plated Keyes. Robbie Holmes (New Sarepta, Alta.) then reached on an error that scored both Stovman and Willow.

- Starter Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) was cruising with two out in the fifth when he recorded what should have been the third out of the inning on a strikeout, however catcher Luke Van Rycheghem’s throw bounced our of first baseman Holmes’s glove to keep the inning alive. After a walk, back-to-back base hits saw two runs score to put the Brewers on the board.

- The juniors got both runs and some back in the sixth as a run scored on a bases loaded error by the catcher before Yerzy sent another double to the gap in left-centre that saw the bases clear to make the score 9-2.

- Walks to Holmes and Van Rycheghem began the seventh and after a wild pitch, a fielder’s choice and error on the same play brought in Holmes with the tenth run of the game.

JNT HIGHLIGHTS
- Yerzy paced the offence with a 2-for-4 game at the plate that included two doubles, both to the gap in left-centre, and four RBI.

- Balazovic was in fine form for the majority of his five-inning outing as he did not allow an earned run nor walk a batter. He scattered three hit, registered four strikeouts and retired 12 batters in a row at one point.

- Jack DeCooman (North Vancouver, BC) was stellar in relief as he tossed four shutout innings, scattering four hits, while striking out three.

TEAM LEADERS
Hits: 2, Yerzy (2/4); 1, Davis (1/4), Bremner (1/4), Hall (1/3), Stovman (1/3), Willow (1/3), van Rycheghem (1/2), Cerny (1/2)
Runs: 2, Hall; 1, Davis, Bremner, Yerzy, Keyes, Stovman, Willow, Holmes, Rogers
Doubles: 2, Yerzy; 1, Stovman
RBIs: 4, Yerzy
Stolen Bases: 1, Holmes
Strikeouts: 4, Balazovic; 3, DeCooman

GAME TWO
Score: DSL Blue Jays 2 Canada (18U) 1
Location: Toronto Blue Jays Dominican Complex – Boca Chica, DR
Weather: 30 degrees Celsius, A few clouds

Canada 18U Starting Lineup:
1. Cooper Davis - CF
2. Jason Willow – 2B
3. Adam Hall - SS
4. Andrew Yerzy – DH
5. Clayton Keyes - LF
6. Noah Naylor – C
7. Steven Moretto – 3B
8. Michael Stovman – DH
9. Tyler Duncan - RF
10. Dondrae Bremner - DH
11. Soren Graversen – 1B

Starting Pitcher: RHP William Sierra

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The juniors opened the scoring by putting a run across in the top of the second. Noah Naylor reached on an infield single and moved to third base on an error before he scored on a Michael Stovman single.

- The Jays got the run back in the third as they took advantage of a pair of fielding errors to score a run on an infield single.

- In the fifth, the juniors had a glorious opportunity to take the lead as they loaded the bases on singles from Clayton Keyes (Calgary, Alta.) and Naylor, while Steven Moretto (Burnaby, BC) drew a walk. However a 1-2-3 double play followed by a pop out to short ended the threat.

- The juniors had opportunities to score late but left two runners on in the eighth and failed to cash in a run in the ninth after Dondrae Bremner (Toronto, Ont.) led the inning off with a double. In total, the juniors left nine runners on base.

- In the bottom of the ninth, a one out walk moved to second on a stolen base and came around to score on a two out single to right tat gave the Blue Jays a walk off win.

JNT HIGHLIGHTS
- William Sierra (Montréal, Que.) was tremendous over five innings of work in the starter’s role. Sierra allowed just two hits and struck out five, while the run he was on the mound for was unearned. He sat the Jays down in order in four out of his five innings on the mound.

- Sam Turcotte (Toronto, Ont.) was equally impressive on the mound as he allowed just one earned run over four innings of work and struck out seven batters.

- Naylor led the offence with a 3-for-3 game at the plate with three singles.

- Finally, it was great running into Baseball Hall of Famer and former Blue Jays star Roberto Alomar at the Blue Jays Complex in Boca Chica. Alomar has served as a guest coach with the Junior National Team at Spring Training since 2014 and is an incredible ambassador for Canadian baseball.

TEAM LEADERS

Hits: 3, Naylor (3/3); 1, Davis (1/3), Keyes (1/3), Bremner (1/3)
Runs: 1, Naylor
Doubles: 1, Bremner
RBIs: 1, Stovman
Stolen Bases: 1, Keyes, Naylor
Strikeouts: 7, Turcotte; 6, Sierra

UP NEXT
The juniors will travel to Guerra tomorrow morning for a 10am ET game against the Chicago Cubs ... LHP Wesley Moore (Surrey, BC) is slated to start on the mound … You can get live updates by following @Team_C_Updates on Twitter.