March 9, 2022

BMOC Week 7

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

The weeks continue to fly by.

And as they do, Canadians at all levels of college baseball continue to step up for their teams.

Get caught up on all the highlights in Week 7 of the BMOC below.

Valero has big game, named National Player of the Week

Cesar Valero (Calgary, Alta.) had a game he would never forget against Houston Baptist. The Okotoks Dawg alum went 5-for-5 with three home runs and 10 RBIs as the Hornets hammered the Huskies 21-4. His first home run, a two-run shot, gave Sacramento State a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first that they would never relinquish. The second long ball, a three-run shot, came in the bottom of the second, with the third, another three-run homer, coming in the bottom of the third.

This performance got Valero recognized as Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week. He was also one of four nominees for D1 Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award Performance of the Week.

Holyk has five home run week, named MonDak and NJCAA National Player of the Week

Infielder Tim Holyk (Nanaimo, BC) hit three home runs, yes three, for Miles Community College in a 20-19 loss to Western Nebraska. If that wasn’t enough, he hit another in a 7-5 loss to Riverland. To cap things off he left the yard one more time in a 21-8 thumping of Northland Community and Technical College. In total, over six games played, he accumulated 11 hits, walked three times, drove in 18, and stole two bases.

His strong play earned him Mon-Dak Conference and NJCAA National Player of the Week honours.

And, for the second time this season Holyk was named our Canadian Baseball Network College Player of the Week.

Boucher earns Player of the Week

The Saints of D’Youville used a strong performance from Alec Boucher (Essex, Ont.) in a pair of wins over University of the Sciences. Boucher posted a 3-for-4 game with four RBIs in a 9-2 win and followed it up with two triples in a 10-6 victory.

The showing earned him the East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week honour.

Zacharias named Athlete of the Week

A three home run game and seven hits in total earned Kaiden Zacharias (Lloydminster, Alta.) Asbury University’s Athlete of the Week. Zacharias hit three solo shots in his team’s 17-13 Game 3 win over Wright State Lake University. On the week, he totaled seven hits, walked three times, drove in six and swiped a pair of bases.

Dual man McWillie pitches and hits

Right-hander Tyler McWillie (Watrous, Sask.) tossed five scoreless innings for the Shorter Hawks as they downed West Alabama 8-3 in Game 1 of their Gulf South Conference series. The former Colby Trojan scattered seven hits, walked two, and struck out three. In Shorter’s other three games during the week, McWillie chipped in four hits and four RBIs. In a 13-9 midweek loss to Georgia College, he went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and three RBIs.

UBC returns home

It was a long awaited homecoming for the University of British Columbia. In their first game at home since March 1, 2020 when they beat Oregon Tech 6-1, the Thunderbirds returned to Tourmaline West Stadium to take on Bushnell. Ryan Beitel (Surrey, BC) allowed one run on four hits over six innings of work as the Thunderbirds picked up a 6-2 win in Game 1. The Langley Blaze alum walked one and punched out seven to even his record at 1-1.

Cole Aguire (Calgary, Alta.) got the Game 2 start and worked five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits in a 9-2 win. He issued two walks and struck out three.

Jonny McGill (Richmond, BC) had five hits and a pair of walks in three games.

Noah Or (Vancouver, BC) amassed six hits in the three games. He also walked once, drove in three, stole a base and was hit by a pitch. His best game came in the 9-2 win over Bushnell when he went 4-for-5 with two RBIs.

Ty Penner (Lethbridge, Alta.) put up big numbers for the Thunderbirds in their three games. He collected nine hits, two walks, and seven RBIs. Penner launched a solo home run in the 9-2 win and two-run shot to open the scoring in a 5-3 loss to Seattle.

Thibodeau has good weekend against the Hawks

McWillie may have thrown well in Game 1, but he certainly had trouble with Jonathan Thibodeau (Burlington, Ont.). The senior catcher went 3-for-4 for West Alabama in the 8-3 loss. That wasn’t the only damage he did in the series. He went 2-for-3 with a RBI in a 6-2, Game 3 victory.

Huge week for Martin, Olney Central

Calling Olney Central’s schedule last week busy would be an understatement. The Blue Knights played nine games and Eric Martin (Kitchener, Ont.) took the field in each of them. When all was said and done, Martin had 18 hits, six walks, 13 RBIs and two stolen bases. Three of his 18 hits left the yard for home runs. One in an 11-6 loss to USC Sumter, another in an 11-4 victory over Coastal Carolina Club, and the final one in the last game of the week, an 8-7 loss to Penn State Dubois.

Olney Central finished the nine games with a 6-3 record.

Goodall throws well as Embry-Riddle rolls

Garrett Goodall (Nanaimo, BC) worked five scoreless innings, surrendering three hits and a walk as Embry-Riddle downed Bridgeport 4-0. He struck out three and improved to 1-2 with the effort. After starting 1-11, the Eagles have now won five straight.

Bremner brings strong play to the forefront

Deandre Bremner (Toronto, Ont.) was on a mission last week. He put up seven hits, including three, two-hit games, as the University of Cincinnati took three of four from Northwestern. Bremner had two hits in Game 2, 3, and 4. He also drove in a run in a 5-4 Game 1 win.

Cloud County Canadians strike again

A 5-1 week helped the Cloud County Thunderbirds improve to 15-2 on the season.

Williams Camacho-Soto (Burnaby, BC) chipped in 11 hits, walked once, drove in 12, stole a base, and was hit by a pitch in five games played. Three of his hits were home runs, a three-run homer in a 17-6 win over Highland in Game 1 of a doubleheader, a two-run shot to open the scoring in an 18-4 victory in the back half of the double dip with Highland, and another two-run shot in a 9-3 win over Johnson County.

Trying to keep pace, teammate Tom Poole (Calgary, Alta.) contributed nine hits, walked four times, drove in nine, stole three bases, and was hit by three pitches. He also launched three home runs. The first two came in the 17-6 win over Highland, a solo and two-run shot. Then in the 9-3 win over Johnson County he swatted a solo home run.

Edmands, Roberts drive Matador offence

Arizona Western College won all four of their games last week and two Canadians played a significant role.

Dylan Edmands (Regina, Sask.) put together seven hits, two walks, five RBIs and four stolen bases. In a doubleheader sweep of Scottsdale Post Grad, Edmands had back-to-back three-hit games.

Noah Roberts (Cambridge, Ont.) had four hits and a walk to aid in the victories.

Grant has good week but Griffs drop four

Max Grant (Fredericton, NB) was a shining light despite a tough week for the Canisius Golden Griffins. Grant had a hit and was hit by a pitch in a 17-3 midweek loss at Virginia. Then he produced six hits, two walks, and two stolen bases in a three-game series with No. 20 Liberty. In Games 1 and 3, he had three-hit games. Unfortunately for Grant and his teammates, they were swept by the Flames.

Canadians arms help Williston State to wins

Midland University got a steady dose of Williston State’s Canadian pitching in Games 1 and 2 of their series.

Tyler Smith (Winnipeg, Man.) came on in relief in Game 1 and threw five innings to pick up the win in the 7-5 decision. He conceded one run on three hits, while walking one and striking out five. With the win, Smith is now 4-0.

Rylan Penner (Blumenort, Man.) started Game 2 and delivered six hitless, scoreless innings in a 6-0 win. He walked two and struck out 11.

George goes the distance

There was no need for a bullpen in William Penn’s Game 3 win over Trinity Christian. That’s because Nick George (Sarnia, Ont.) tossed all seven innings in the 6-3 win. George gave up eight hits and the three runs to pick up the win. He pitched to contact all game long, striking out only one.

Maier strong in no-decision

Adam Maier (North Vancouver, BC) lasted 5 1/3 innings and yielded one run on two hits as the Oregon Ducks would go on to beat UC Santa Barbara 3-2 on Friday night. The North Shore Twins grad walked three and struck out five in his third start for the Ducks.

Cory comes on in relief

Mayville State received 5 1/3 innings of relief out of Connor Cory (Wawanesa, Man.) in their 5-4 victory over Hastings. Cory allowed five hits, two runs, and a walk. The 6-foot-2 sophomore struck out a pair in the outing.

Dobie gets first college hit

Mason Dobie (Meaford, Ont.) stroked his first collegiate hit in Dayton’s 11-3 loss to Eastern Kentucky.

Murchison makes it happen with the bat

In three games last week for West Valley, Cole Murchison (Stouffville, Ont.) collected five hits, a walk, and three RBIs. He had a two-hit game in a 14-13 loss to Mission and again in an 8-5 victory over Cabrillo.

DiLuca hits grand slam in Eastern Illinois win

Lucas DiLuca (LaSalle, Ont.) smashed a grand slam and finished with two hits and a hit by pitch in Eastern Illinois’ Game 2 win over Grambling State. In four games last week, DiLuca had seven hits, a walk, and six RBIs.

Song gets on

Seungjun Song (Winnipeg, Man,) reached via a hit six times and worked a pair of walks in three games for South Suburban. Song had three hits twice, once in an 11-1 loss to Coastal Bend and again in a 15-1 victory over Spartans Post Grad Academy. He also drove in two as the Bulldogs went 1-2.

Suraganan steps up offensively for Marshalltown

Seven hits in a four-game series was what Marshalltown infielder Joel Suraganan (Pickering, Ont.) provided against Three Rivers. He had three hits and two RBIs in both Games 3 and 4. The Tigers split the series, dropping the first two games before winning the final two.

Carinci comes up with eight hits

Justin Carinci (Ajax, Ont.) kickstarted his week with a 3-for-4 performance with a stolen base in Mineral Area’s Game 1 win over UA Rich Mountain. He then went 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs in a Game 2 win, before going 3-for-4 with a RBI and a stolen base in a Game 3 loss.

Jessamine pitches into the 6th

Former Fraser Valley Cardinal right-hander Kole Jessamine (Abbotsford, BC) lasted 5 2/3 innings in his start for Lake Region State. Jessamine scattered five hits, two runs, a trio of walks, and struck out seven in a 4-2 loss to the Northwestern College JV’s.

Adam provides ample offence, Hurford handles Otero

Maxime Adam (Montreal, Que.) was all over the box score for Western Nebraska. He collected four hits, walked nine times, drove in one and stole two bags as the Cougars went 5-1.

Dawson Hurford (Victoria, BC) spun six scoreless innings as Western Nebraska shutout Otero 3-0 to open their three-game series. Hurford surrendered two hits, issued one walk, and punched out nine to pick up the win.

Maves reaches base eight times

Senior infielder Kyle Maves (Burlington, Ont.) made his way on base eight times in Quinnipiac’s three-game set with James Madison. He did so by the way of four hits, four walks, and a hit by pitch. He also drove in two and swiped four bases. Despite the effort, Quinnipiac lost the series 2-1.

Newton pounds pitching

Jakob Newton (Oakville, Ont.) had an 11-hit week for the Florida Tech Panthers, including a two-run home run in a 17-8 loss to Tiffin to open the slate. He also walked once, and drove in 10. He came a home run shy of the cycle in a 9-3 win over Bridgeport. The following game, a 16-2 win over Chestnut Hill, he went 4-for-6 with three RBIs.

Oh Mah goodness, what a week

It was a hectic week for Missouri Valley but Jayden Mah (Nanaimo, BC) was up to the challenge. Mah managed 10 knocks and 12 RBIs in six games. He went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and three RBI’s in the Vikings’ 17-6 victory over William Woods.

Carr-Matthews evens record

Connor Carr-Matthews (Mississauga, Ont.) gave up one run on two hits over five innings for Wells College in their 3-2 victory over SUNY Poly. He worked around six walks and struck out one. He’s now 1-1 on the season.

Six hits in three games for Graham

Salem University’s Brett Graham (Burlington, Ont.) supplied the Tigers with six hits, a walk, and four RBIs. He went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and a hit by pitch in a 16-6 loss to Wheeling. The hit by pitch was one of three on the week.

Trondson starts twice

Matthias Trondson (Toronto, Ont.) threw six innings over two starts for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. He tossed a scoreless inning, allowing a hit, a walk and striking out three in a 3-1 win over Metropolitan. His next start lasted five scoreless innings in a 9-0 victory over Carl Albert. In that one, he surrendered three hits, walked three, and punched out two.

Simpson starts season strong

Let’s play two. Matt Simpson (Ladysmith, BC) and Northland College opened their season with a doubleheader with Augsburg. Simpson had two, two-hit games with three RBIs in a pair of losses.

McCabe continues to fuel 49ers offence

David McCabe (Oshawa, Ont.) hit his second and third home runs of the season and concluded his week with nine hits, nine walks, seven RBIs, two stolen bases, and a hit by pitch. His two home runs, both two-run shots, came in an 11-5 midweek win over Gardner-Webb.

Three multi-hit games for East Central’s Schaper-Kotter

Lead off man Colton Schaper-Kotter (Vernon, BC) was impressive despite his East Central Tigers getting swept by Northwestern Oklahoma. He went 2-for-5 with two RBIs in a 19-9 Game 1 loss. In Game 2 he again had a 2-for-5 game in a 22-12 loss. The finale, a 6-4 loss, saw him go 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Four-hit doubleheader for Fabian

Matt Fabian (Toronto, Ont.) chipped in four hits, two walks, three RBIs, and a hit by pitch in Ithaca’s doubleheader sweep of College of Old Westbury. Ithaca put up 27 runs in the two games.

Hunt has four more hits

The week after being named the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week, Ethan Hunt (Elginburg, Ont.) was back at it for Oklahoma Panhandle State. Last week, he put up four hits and a RBI in three losses.

Myers making most of opportunity with USC Upstate

Noah Myers (Tilbury, Ont.) has been on fire this season for the USC Upstate Spartans and he continued his hot season last week. Myers had eight knocks, a walk, and three RBIs over the course of four games. He opened the scoring in the Spartans finale against Xavier with a solo home run in the bottom of the first.

Balogh, Wheeler blast Presentation pitching

Graceland University had all the fun in their series with Presentation, winning all four games. Ethan Balogh (Calgary, Alta.) was a force in the box, pounding out six hits, walking once and driving in a run. He went 3-for-4 in a 6-5 series sweeping win.

Teammate Austin Wheeler (Welland, Ont.) had a strong series, as well. Wheeler put together six hits, four RBIs, and a stolen base. He deposited a ball over the wall for a two-run home run in a 5-3 Game 1 win. He also had a hit and two RBIs in a 10-3 loss to the University of Saint Mary.

Erie starts 4-2

Carter Whitehead (Hamilton, Ont.) and Erie Community College made the journey south to Florida to open their season. They finished up the week 4-2 behind six hits, a walk, and a stolen base from Whitehead.

Hogg has five hits in high scoring win

It wasn’t a great day for pitchers in Marian College’s 20-10 Game 3 victory over Taylor. Jackson Hogg (Surrey, BC) was a headache for opposing arms, going 5-for-6 with a walk and five RBIs in the game. He closed the week with seven hits, and six RBIs in all over the four-game series.

Five-hit game, scoreless appearance for Geekie

Noah Geekie (Strathclair, Man.) did his fair share of contributing in Emporia State’s five games. Geekie added eight hits, two walks, two RBIs, and two stolen bases on the offensive side. His best game came in a 13-2, Game 2 win over Fort Hays State when he went 5-for-5 with two RBIs and a stolen base. On top of the offensive production, he also threw a hitless, scoreless 1 2/3 innings in a 2-0 Game 1 loss to FHSU. He walked one and struck out one.

Tweet keeps on hitting

There was no slowing down Mesabi Range’s Dawson Tweet (Russell, Man.) in five games last week. Tweet hammered out nine hits, walked, and stole a base. He had a three-hit game in both a 15-7 loss to Owen and a 7-3 win over Vermilion.

Weisner stands out in big week for Ottawa

A three-game sweep of No. 9 Oklahoma Wesleyan capped a four-win week for Ottawa University. Jonah Weisner (Mission, BC) played a major role in the team’s success with seven hits, a walk, six RBIs, and three stolen bases. He launched a solo home run in a 15-8 win over Avila to start the week. In the opener with Oklahoma Wesleyan, he left the yard again for a two-run home run.

Chenier-Rondeau, OCU play two series in one week

What’s better than a three-game series sweep? Two. Oklahoma City University swept away Central Baptist and then did it again to Wayland Baptist, all in the same week. Felix Chenier-Rondeau (Blainville, Que.) did his part by supplying 11 hits, three of which were home runs, two walks, 11 RBIs and five stolen bases. His first home run, a solo blast, came in a 7-4, Game 2 win over Central Baptist. The second, a three-run shot, was in a 12-11 Game 3 win. His third and final was of the two-run variety in an 8-2 Game 1 win over Wayland Baptist.

Three, two-hit games for Dubois

Sebastien Dubois (Ottawa, Ont.) had two hits in each of St. Norbert’s three games against Anderson. He added on a walk, five RBIs and a hit by pitch but his team was swept.

Whittle gets to work for Bay College

Over four games last week, Xavier Whittle (Etobicoke, Ont.) had six hits. He walloped a home run in a 14-5 win over the Manhattanville College JV’s. When the games were over, he had a walk and four RBIs to go along with the knocks.

Toronto Mets alum Eric Chartier (Newmarket, Ont.) had four hits, a walk, an RBI and three stolen bases in three games for the University of Charleston Golden Eagles. Photo: UC Golden Eagles

Chartier, Charleston beat up on Bluefield State

Eric Chartier (Newmarket, Ont.) and the University of Charleston Golden Eagles swept a three-game series from Bluefield State by a combined score of 30-12. Chartier contributed with four hits, a walk, an RBI and three stolen bases.

Campbell’s five hits spark Reinhardt sweep

Leading the way offensively for Reinhardt University in their three-game sweep of Columbia International was catcher Shayne Campbell (Winnipeg, Man.). He provided the Eagles with five hits and four RBIs. His biggest hit was a grand slam in a 6-3 Game 3 win.

Machibroda hits four homers

Nolan Machibroda (Saskatoon, Sask.) had himself a week for Cumberland. He hit a solo home run in an 8-7 win over Milligan, a three-run home run in a 15-2 thumping in Game 1 of the Phoenix series with Shawnee State, and then three-run and two-run shots in a 19-13 Game 3 win. In all, he had six hits on the week with four walks, 13 RBIs, and a stolen base.

Bucovetsky a bright spot for struggling Highland

The 4-14 Highland Scotties dropped five of six games last week, but Jake Bucovetsky (Toronto, Ont.) was a menace in the batter’s box. The Toronto Mets graduate had 11 hits and drove in nine. He had a two home run game in a 17-6 loss to Cloud County to open the week’s games. To close out the six games, he went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in a 16-11 Game 4 loss to Pratt.

Farid a factor D’Youville

George Farid (Mississauga, Ont.) played well in a pair of wins over University of the Sciences. Farid had a hit in a 9-2 win and was 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and four RBIs in the second win.

Webber nabs second win

Cade Webber (Kelowna, BC) moved his record to 2-1 on the season with six innings of one run baseball for McCook in their Game 2 win over Trinidad State. Webber allowed two hits, issued four walks, and struck out 10. McCook took the four-game set three games to one.

Cazorla keeps up stellar play

Panola and Paris had trouble containing Bossier Parish’s Alejandro Cazorla (Okotoks, Alta.). He had four hits, four walks, an RBI and a stolen base in three games. The Cavaliers lost to Panola 8-3 and split the two games with Paris.

Farrell finds his way on five times

Devon Farrell (Saskatoon, Sask.) stockpiled four hits, drove in a run, and was hit by a pitch for Rockhurst last week.

Frers fires six innings for Whitecaps

It was a tough-luck loss for Lukas Frers (Langley). The hurler gave up an unearned run on six hits over six innings in a 1-0 Galveston loss to Coastal Bend. He issued one free pass and fanned five.

Herron homers

Tyler Herron (St. Albert, Alta.) hit a home run in Parkland’s 4-2 win over Southwestern Illinois. On the week, he had four hits and two RBIs in four games.

***

Strikeouts, big hits, new faces, this week had it all. Make sure to check back seven days from now for more highlights in Week 8 of the BMOC.

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 college baseball coverage all season long.