BMOC Week 3 

February 10, 2025

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network 

The days are slowly getting longer as spring approaches and so is the list of Canadians putting up impressive performances across college baseball. 

Without further ado, let’s take a look at who stood out this past week. 

Jacklin tabbed All-SoCon Second Team 

Blake Jacklin (St. Jacobs, Ont.) has been named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference Second Team ahead of East Tennessee State’s opener on Friday against Northern Kentucky. Jacklin finished 2024 with a .306 average, seven home runs, a .391 on-base percentage and a .612 slugging percentage. 

Crowson comes through for Falcons 

Facing the No. 1 University of Tampa Spartans didn’t faze Montevallo University’s Connor Crowson (Okotoks, Alta.) as he put together an eight-hit series. Two of his hits were solo home runs while he also stole a base. He went 4-for-5 with a solo shot in a 15-4 Game 3 loss. The Falcons won the opener but dropped the series 2-1. 

His week actually started with a 2-for-5 game with a two-run home run and three RBIs in a 7-3 midweek win over Spring Hill. 

Nicoll has nine knocks 

Southern Arkansas’ Brandon Nicoll (Coombs, BC) collected nine hits, walked twice, drove in two, stole two bases and was hit by a pitch in five games. He hit a solo home run in a 5-3 win over Emporia State before going 4-for-6 with a stolen base in a loss to Central Oklahoma. 

Forno, Fujie standouts for Campbellsville 

Right-hander Brody Forno (Okotoks, Alta.) tossed five innings and allowed one run on five hits but it wasn’t enough as Campbellsville University fell 3-2 to William Carey. Forno issued a pair of walks and struck out 10 in the start. 

On the offensive side for the Tigers, Yosuke Fujie (Mission, BC) produced four hits, walked once, collected five RBIs and stole a base. He hit a solo and two-run home run in a 4-3 loss to Missouri Baptist in the first game of the week and then led off Game 2 against William Carey with a solo home run in an eventual 9-2 loss. 

UBC closes out Florida road trip 

The No. 24 University of British Columbia Thunderbirds will head back west after finishing a season opening road trip in Florida with a 2-4 record.  

Trent Lenihan (White Rock, BC) was a bright spot in a 12-10 loss to Southeastern University with two solo home runs and a two-run shot en route to finishing with four hits. In the two games that followed, he had a hit, walked twice, stole a base and was hit by a pitch. 

Stephen Waters (Toronto, Ont.) was also impressive at the plate in two games against the University of Saint Francis, going a combined 5-for-8 with two walks and four RBIs as the Thunderbirds managed a split. 

Hall, McKinnon help Bossier Parish to sweep 

Help from Canadians came from all over the field for Bossier Parish Community College as they swept a three-game series from Dallas College Richland. 

Tyrus Hall (Victoria, BC) chipped in five hits, including a two-home run game in a 15-5 Game 2 win. 

Ben McKinnon (Surrey, BC) finished off the sweep by picking up the win in Game 3. McKinnon tossed five scoreless, hitless innings and issued just one walk. He struck out eight in a 6-0 victory. 

O’Toole outstanding for Central Missouri 

With their series tied 1-1 against Arkansas Tech, Evan O’Toole (Bridgewater, N.S.) took the mound and delivered five scoreless innings to lead No. 3 Central Missouri to 6-0 Game 3 win. O’Toole allowed three hits, walked two batters and struck out six. 

Hall, Zimmer lead Bethel University to 3-1 start 

Bethel University began the year with a 3-1 series win over Culver-Stockton, thanks in large part to two Canadians. 

Jared Hall (Chilliwack, BC) had three multi-hit games and finished with nine knocks in total. He also walked once, drove in eight and stole a base. In the finale, a 15-10 win, he hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first to kickstart the Royals’ offence. 

Zach Zimmer (Chilliwack, BC) got the start in Game 2 and threw five innings, allowing one run on five hits. He walked two and struck out four to earn his first win of the season. 

Steiert-Couture homers as part of three-hit game 

Deri Steiert-Couture (Calgary, Alta.) amassed three hits, one of which was a solo home run, and a stolen base as Cerro Coso defeated Irvine Valley 18-3. In the rematch, he had a hit in a 10-4 loss. 

Dauphinee swats solo shot 

Speaking of solo home runs, Ryan Dauphinee (White Rock, BC) had one of his own as part of a two-hit effort in Central Baptist’s 5-4 Game 3 loss to Ottawa University. During Game 4, an 8-5 loss, he had a hit, a walk and two RBIs. 

McTavish evens record 

Shaye McTavish (Lethbridge, Alta.) moved his record to 1-1 after throwing five innings and giving up two runs on five hits in the University of Pikeville’s 5-4 Game 1 win over Cleary. He worked around four walks and struck out five. 

Cassie keeps hitting 

A familiar name from last season’s BMOC, Noah Cassie (North Delta, BC) was back at it for Mineral Area College last week. Cassie went 3-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and two RBIs in the Cardinals 10-6 Game 1 victory over Southwest Mississippi Community College. Over the final two games of the series, he had two hits, a walk, a RBI and a stolen base in a split. 

Bishop bashes pair of home runs 

Andrew Bishop (Kitchener, Ont.) was a sparkplug for Georgia Highland’s offence in their four games. He finished the series against Pellissippi State with five hits, a walk and five RBIs. Two of his hits were solo home runs in the first and second games. 

Gaudreau goes the distance 

Southpaw Zach Gaudreau (Montreal, Que.) threw a complete game shutout to lead Southwestern Christian to an 8-0 win over Kansas Christian College. He allowed two hits, walked five and struck out six to move to 1-0 on the campaign. 

Cathers, Coyle, Konings bring the thunder for Cloud County 

A trio of Canadians delivered offensively for the Cloud County Community College Thunderbirds in three games. 

Carter Cathers (Nanaimo, BC) had three hits, five RBIs and was hit by a pitch. 

Austin Coyle (Kamloops, BC) hit a home run as part of a four-hit week. He also walked three times, stole two bases and was hit by a pitch. 

Noah Konings (Brampton, Ont.) also had four hits to go along with a walk, two RBIs, four stolen bases and a hit by pitch. 

The Thunderbirds won all three games. 

Radke racks up the hits 

Pierce Radke (Maple Ridge, BC) produced eight hits, a walk, six RBIs and was hit by a pitch in four games for Erskine College. 

Steen steps up for Loyola 

Loyola University should consider putting Marcus Steen (Ladysmith, BC) in the lineup from now on after he amassed five hits, a walk, 13 RBIs, two stolen bases and two hit by pitches in three of their five games. One of his hits was a two-run home run, while the other four were doubles. Better yet, the Wolf Pack won all three games. 

Dearing picks up win 

Tate Dearing (Surrey, BC) worked six innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits as Reinhardt beat Midway 12-2 in Game 2 of their three-game set. He struck out eight before watching his team complete the sweep in Game 3. 

Irvine wins again for Weevils 

Connor Irvine (Victoria, BC) is now 2-0 after surrendering two runs on five hits over six innings to pick up the win as Arkansas at Monticello beat Missouri Western State 5-2. He punched out seven along the way. 

Froehlich throws complete game 

Righty Kyle Froehlich (Nipawin, Sask.) worked around nine hits to throw a complete game in the University of Texas at Tyler’s win over No. 2 Angelo State. He allowed two runs and struck out two. 

Hicks, Villalobos catch fire for Fire 

Connor Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) and Alfonso Villalobos had big weeks to help the Southeastern University Fire improve to 8-0. 

Hicks’ biggest blow came in a 12-10 win over No. 24 University of British Columbia when he swatted a grand slam and finished with five RBIs. In three other games on the week, including another victory over UBC, Hicks had five hits, one of which was a two-run home run, a walk and four RBIs. He was also hit by four pitches in a 20-9 win over the University of Saint Francis. 

Villalobos compiled 12 hits, walked twice, drove in six and stole a base. His best game came in the finale, that 20-9 win, when he went 4-for-5 with a solo home run, a walk and two RBIs. Two of his hits on the week were solo home runs and he doubled five times. 

The Division I season gets underway on Friday, meaning a whole new group of Canadians are about the hit the field. 

Don’t forget to stay caught up on all the action right here in the BMOC each week. 

Do you know of a player deserving of a mention in the weekly BMOC column? Email Matt Betts at mattbetts@canadianbaseballnetwork.com. Please note that our week runs Monday-Sunday. 

Be sure to follow Matt Betts at @Bettsy41 for extensive Canadian baseball coverage all season long.