BMOC Week IV: Gardner, Irvine, McHarg, O’Halloran, Ridley, Sanchez

Badlands Baseball Academy alum Kaiden Zacharias (Lloydminster, Alta.) had five hits, two walks and three stolen bases in four games for Salem University, which earned him New South Athletic Conference Player of the Week honours. Photo: Salem University Athletics

February 22, 2023

BMOC Week 4

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

With the Division I season getting underway this past weekend, more Canadians took to the field. Let’s check out the top performances from Canucks across all of college baseball.

Zacharias named NSAC Player of the Week

It was a week to remember for Salem University’s Kaiden Zacharias (Lloydminster, Alta.) as he collected five hits, walked twice, drove in three and swiped three bases as the Tigers took three of four from Fairmont State. Zacharias drove in the winning run in a 5-4, 12-inning Game 4 win to secure the series victory. For his strong play, he was named the New South Athletic Conference Player of the Week.

O’Halloran handles Fresno State

The Michigan Wolverines handed the ball to Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) to open their season on Friday against Fresno State. The former Terrier turned in six innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits with four strikeouts to earn the victory in the 6-2 win.

Millas, Wilkinson deliver victories for Vaqueros

A pair of Canadian hurlers are a combined 6-0 for Central Arizona College.

Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC) earned his third win of the season with 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 win over Cochise. Millas surrendered three hits, walked two and struck out five.

Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, BC) also picked up his third win in a 12-2 thumping of Arizona Western. Wilkinson threw five innings and gave up three hits, two runs, while walking one and punching out 11.

Gardner continues to hit

Everywhere he goes, Will Gardner (St. Albert, Alta.) hits. Whether it was Garden City Community College or his current stop at Mount Marty University. Last week Gardner had five hits, walked twice, drove in four and was hit by three pitches. He hit a two-run home run in a 5-3 win over Tabor.

Victoria Eagles alum Noah Takacs (Victoria, BC) got the start and earned the win for Sacramento State on Opening Day when he allowed just one run and struck out seven in five innings against North Dakota State. Photo: Sacramento State Athletics

Takacs takes the hill on Opening Day

Noah Takacs (Victoria, BC) was the Opening Day starter for Sacramento State. He picked up the win over North Dakota State with five innings of one run baseball. He yielded two hits and struck out seven in the 5-3 Hornets win.

Gollert shines in debut with new team

Lefty Harley Gollert (Toronto, Ont.) transferred from Austin Peay to Oral Roberts in the offseason and the Golden Eagles gave him the ball in Game 2 of the season against Northern Illinois. Gollert didn’t disappoint, going five innings and conceding two runs (one earned) on six hits, with a walk and five strikeouts in the 8-2 win.

MacLeod punches out seven

Hunter MacLeod (Abbotsford, BC) gave up two runs over six innings in Rend Lakes’ 12-2 win over Mississippi Delta. He scattered four hits, walked two and struck out seven.

Five scoreless earns Ridley the win

Ottawa University used five scoreless innings from Flynn Ridley (Burnaby, BC) en route to a 13-0 Game 3 win over Northwestern. Ridley allowed two hits, walked one and struck out three. Ottawa would go on to sweep the four-game series.

Hammil, Gurney make debuts

Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) and Cameron Gurney (Scotland, Ont.) both debuted for the University of Utah in their four-game series with San Francisco.

Terriers alum Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) had four hits in his first game of the season for Utah. Photo: Utah Athletics

Hammill, a redshirt freshman, had a dream start, going 4-for-5 with a triple, two-run home run and four RBI in an 11-9 Game 1 win. Over the next three games he had a hit and three walks.

Gurney didn’t see action until Game 3 but made the most of it, putting up a 3-for-3 performance with a walk in a 6-2 loss. He finished the series with a hit in a 3-0 Game 4 loss.

Geekie goes six in extra innings loss

Noah Geekie (Strathclair, Man.) allowed one run over six innings but it wasn’t enough as Emporia State dropped Game 3 of their series to Augustana 4-2 in 11 innings. Geekie scattered seven hits and struck out seven in the no-decision.

McHarg homers twice

Six games in seven days gave Payton McHarg (Saskatoon, Sask.) time to get in a groove for Kansas City Kansas Community College. McHarg hit two home runs and had eight hits in all as KCKCC posted a 6-0 record, including a four-game sweep of Marshalltown. The Canuck also added two walks, 11 RBIs and a stolen base to his totals.

Parsons leads Saint Francis to series win

The Cougars of Saint Francis used four hits, a walk and five RBIs from Nick Parsons (Waterloo, Ont.) to power them to a 3-1 series win over Tennessee Southern. Parsons smashed a solo home run in the only loss of the series, a 10-5 defeat in Game 1.

UBC drops three of four

It wasn’t a great week for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the win column, but three Canadians stood out in the team’s 3-1 series loss to Lewis Clark State.

Sean Heppner (Point Roberts, Wash.) tossed six innings and surrendered one run on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts in a 5-1 Game 1 loss.

Brother Ryan Heppner (Point Roberts, Wash.) got the start in Game 4 and also went six innings. He allowed six hits, two runs and struck out seven but took the loss to drop his record to 2-1.

Both Sean and Ryan played their high school baseball for the Delta Blue Jays.

Great Lake Canadians alum Brett Corbeth (London, Ont.), who pitches and catches for UBC, had five hits last week for the Thunderbirds. Photo: UBC Athletics

Offensively, it was Brett Corbeth (London, Ont.) who led the way. He had five hits, including multi-hit performances in both Game 2 and 3. The former Great Lake Canadian drove in three in the series.

Holyk hits grand slam

Tim Holyk (Nanaimo, BC) hit a grand slam and walked twice as Cumberland University dropped No. 22 Northwestern Ohio 10-6 in Game 3. The Phoenix would go on to sweep the four-game series.

Hammering earns win, Sanchez drives in 12

A Canadian arm and bat played a significant role in Barton Community College’s four-game sweep of Western Nebraska over the weekend.

Reece Hemmerling (Beaumont, Alta.) gave up an unearned run over six innings in an 11-1 Game 4 win. The right-hander allowed just one hit and struck out four.

Ricardo Sanchez (Okotoks, Alta.) fuelled the Barton offence with eight hits, a walk, 12 RBIs and a pair of stolen bases in the series. In Game 2, an 11-6 win, Sanchez went 4-for-5 with a home run, five RBIs and a stolen base.

Boies continues to hit

Emile Boies (Levis, Que.) is making himself a regular in this column thanks to his strong play for Fort Hays State. Last week Boies stroked six hits, walked four times and drove in four. He hit a solo shot in a 13-10 Game 2 win over Regis.

Abbotsford Cardinals alum Liam Bushey (Mission, BC) had seven hits and eight RBIs for the Mineral Area College Cardinals this past week. Photo: Twitter

Bushey with three multi-hit games

Fresh off a commitment to Western Illinois University, Liam Bushey (Mission, BC) showed why the Leathernecks are bringing him to Macomb, Ill. Bushey bashed seven hits, walked four times and drove in eight. He finished a single short of the cycle in an 8-6 Game 1 win over Northwest-Shoals Community College.

Irvine goes the distance in win

Bullpen? No need. At least when Connor Irvine (Victoria, BC) was on the hill during Arkansas at Monticello’s Game 3 win over East Central. Irvine spun a complete game, seven-inning shutout to help the Weevils sweep the three-game series. He allowed two hits, walked one and struck out eight.

Millar picks up first collegiate win

Owen Millar (Burlington, Ont.) threw five scoreless innings to pick up his first collegiate win as Howard College downed Northwest Texas 8-0. Millar yielded two hits, walked one and struck out five.

Vauxhall Academy Jets and Sylvan Lake Gulls alum Tyler Boudreau (Middle Sackville, N.S.) pitched six strong innings, allowing just two runs, in his start for the Midland College Chaparrals. Photo: Sylvan Lake Gulls.

Boudreau moves to 2-0, Midland to 12-0

The Midland College Chaparrals are on fire as they moved to a perfect 12-0 on the season last week. Tyler Boudreau (Middle Sackville, N.S.) helped them get their by picking up his second win of the season thanks to six innings of work. Boudreau allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four.

Cerkownyk swats six home runs

Opposing pitchers had a terrible time keeping Brady Cerkownyk in the yard as he launched two home runs in three different games for the Connors State Cowboys. In a 13-1 win over Carl Albert to start the week, he went 3-for-6 with two home runs and four RBIs. After a 2-for-4 game with a walk and five RBIs in an 18-2 win over North Central Texas in Game 1 of a doubleheader, he hit two more home runs and drove in five more in the back half. Next up was a 3-for-3 game with a walk and four RBIs in a 10-0 win over TSC Postgrad. Finally, to close the week he smashed another two home runs, walked twice and drove in three as the Cowboys downed TSC Postgrad by a 15-7 score.

Black busy in series with Saint Peter's

Brody Black (Stouffville, Ont.) is proving brother and Milwaukee Brewers prospect Tyler isn't the only one in the family who can hit. The younger Black hit a solo home run, walked, drove in two and was hit by a pitch as his Coppin State Eagles beat Saint Peter's 14-7 in Game 2 of their series. During a 16-8 Game 3 win, he went 2-for-3 with two walks and a RBI.

Gollert gets going early

Taeg Gollert (Toronto, Ont.) proved he belonged in the Missouri State Bears lineup as a freshman. He stroked six hits, five of which were doubles, in the Bears three-game series at Cal Poly. His three doubles in a 15-4 Game 2 win tied a single-game school record. The former High Performance Program Tiger added four RBIs to his weekend total.

***

The college baseball season continues to roll on this week and we have you covered. Check back next week for all the highlights from Feb. 20 to 26.

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 to Sunday.

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