April 2, 2024

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network 

It’s time to take a break from Major League Baseball, at least for a few moments, to get caught up on the top Canadian college performances. 

Favretto named KCAC Player of the Week 

Let’s begin this column with a weekly honour. Tyler Favretto (Montreal, Que.) had seven hits, walked five times, drove in seven and was hit by a pitch as Kansas Wesleyan swept a three-game series from Bethany. For his play, Favretto was named the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week. 

Carinci has three-hit game 

Justin Carinci (Ajax, Ont.) got in on the action during Eastern Kentucky’s 20-15 midweek win over Northern Kentucky, going 3-for-6 with two doubles and four RBIs. He drove in two more in the Colonels’ series against Stetson. 

Thompson tosses seven in loss 

Allowing two runs in a complete game, seven-inning effort is usually good enough to pick up the win, but that wasn’t the case for Jefferson Community College (NY) starter Tyler Thompson (Moosomin, Sask.). The right-hander gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out two in a 2-1 loss to Hudson Valley. 

Geisbrecht wins his fifth, Gunderson and Pimental-Guerrero provide the offence 

Ethan Giesbrecht (Altona, Man.) threw five scoreless innings as Hutchinson blew out Pratt 11-0 in Game 1 of their four-game set. He allowed one hit, walked four and struck out four. 

Cody Gunderson (St. Malo, Man.) hit three home runs and concluded the series with five hits, a walk and nine RBIs. He backed Giesbrecht by hitting a pair of two-run home runs to get the Blue Dragons out to a 4-0 lead in Game 1. 

Luis Pimental-Guerrero (Toronto, Ont.) chipped in four hits, five walks, four RBIs and a stolen base. He hit three doubles and a triple in the sweep. 

McFarland works six innings in relief 

Hindsight is 20/20 and Campbellsville University probably wishes they started Ryan McFarland (Calgary, Alta.) in Game 1 against Freed-Hardeman. That’s because McFarland came on in relief to throw six scoreless innings in a 5-3 loss. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out seven. 

McGill homers twice 

Evan Magill (Ajax, Ont.) had his best game of the week in Tennessee Wesleyan’s 13-6 Game 2 win over Milligan when he went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a two-run shot. On the week, he had seven hits, three walks and three RBIs in four games. 

Allan explodes in midweek win 

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M’s Scott Allan (Delta, BC) went 4-for-6 with a home run, four RBIs and two stolen bases as the Golden Norsemen downed Northern Oklahoma Enid 15-11 in a midweek contest. Allan then had two hits and walked four times in a 2-1 series victory over Eastern Oklahoma State. 

Leduc loses, but pitches well 

With seven innings of work, Frontier Community College’s loss to Rend Lake couldn’t be pinned on Zach Leduc (Blainville, Que.). He allowed one run on three hits, with three walks and 11 strikeouts in a 2-1 Game 1 defeat.  

Achen new program strikeout leader 

With 12 strikeouts in his start against NAIA No. 5 University of the Cumberlands, Cohen Achen (Calgary, Alta.) became the Lindsey Wilson all-time leader in punch outs with 183. Achen lasted six innings and yielded two runs on six hits and two walks. 

Pelletier plays big in Texas 

Catcher Raphael Pelletier (Mascouche, Que.) collected four hits, walked three times and drove in a run as Kansas State dropped their three-game series to Texas, 2-1. Pelletier went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in a 21-11 Game 2 loss. 

McWhirter with multiple three-hit games 

Jacob McWhirter (Guelph, Ont.) began his week by going 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and three RBIs as William Woods defeated the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, 19-5. Game 2 saw him stroke a hit in a win before going 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and five RBIs as the Owls completed the sweep. 

Luther helps Bruins to series win over Waldorf 

Similar to the aforementioned McWhirter, Brendan Luther (Mississauga, Ont.) started his week with three hits, a walk and two RBIs to aid No. 13 Bellevue to a 7-2 victory over Waldorf. In Game 2, Luther hit a three-run home run as part of a 3-for-5 game with five RBIs. After a hit and a walk in a 3-2 Game 3 loss, he went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run in a 33-2 win. 

Dick delivers for Golden Griffins 

Carlin Dick (Abbotsford, BC) put together a six-hit, three-walk, four-RBI and two stolen base week in four games for Canisius College. He hit two solo home runs in a 7-6 Game 2 win over Manhattan, the second of which was a walk-off shot. 

Soucie strikes out 13 

Southpaw Jackson Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) conceded two runs (one earned) on five hits over six innings as Wabash Valley beat Olney Central 12-9 in Game 1 of their series. Soucie walked two and struck out 13. 

George jumpstarts William Penn 

Nick George (Sarnia, Ont.) pounded out five hits in William Penn’s series split with Clarke. During a 7-4 Game 2 loss, he went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a three-run homer. He finished the series with six RBIs and a stolen base. 

UBC splits series with Eastern Oregon 

After suffering a pair of losses in games 1 and 2, the University of British Columbia won games 3 and 4 to secure a series split against Eastern Oregon. 

In Game 1, Sean Heppner (Point Roberts, Wash.) worked six innings in a 3-2 loss. Heppner allowed one run on four hits while walking two and striking out four.  

Trent Lenihan (White Rock, BC), Jonny McGill (Richmond, BC) and Mitchell Middlemiss (Chilliwack, BC) supplied plenty of offence. 

Lenihan had nine hits, walked four times, drove in 10, stole two bases and was hit by a pitch. He hit a solo home run in an 11-6 Game 2 loss but his best game at the plate came in Game 4 when he went 4-for-4 with a three-run home run, a walk, eight RBIs and a stolen base. 

McGill swiped five bases while collecting six hits, four walks and three RBIs. 

Middlemiss put together seven hits, walked twice, drove in six and was hit by a pitch. He hit a three-run home run in Game 4.  

Campbell shuts out Lakeland 

Ethan Campbell (Saskatoon, Sask.) spun five scoreless innings as Clark State blanked Lakeland 11-0. Campbell allowed one hit, walked four and struck out four. 

Cote continues to leave the yard 

It seems like every week Josh Cote (Midland, Ont.) is hitting a home run. Last week, he had two, one each in Game 2 and 4 of Northeastern Junior College’s series versus Southeast. He finished the four-game series with five hits, a walk and three RBIs. The Plainsmen were outplayed and swept. 

Nicoll has six knocks 

Brandon Nicoll (Coombs, BC) pounded out six hits and drove in a run in four games for Southern Arkansas University. He went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in a 6-4 Game 2 win over Ouachita Baptist. 

Fluet pitches well to improve to 2-1 

All three runs Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Josh Fluet (White Rock, BC) surrendered in his Game 2 start against Southern Nazarene were unearned as the Bulldogs pulled out an 11-3 win. Fluet scattered four hits, walked two and struck out one over 5 2/3 innings. 

Wells goes eight strong  

Ryan Wells (Caledon, Ont.) worked around six hits and four walks to throw eight scoreless innings as Chattanooga State Community College shut out Roane State 4-0. Wells struck out six along the way. 

Tough luck continues to Hanning 

Let’s dive into the season Joseph Hanning (Vancouver, BC) has had so far. He owns a 3.89 ERA over 44 innings and has struck out 9.2 per nine for Paradise Valley Community College. Not bad, right? Other than the fact he’s 0-5 after a 2-1 loss to Cochise College last week. It wasn’t entirely his fault, though, as he threw seven innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits. He also struck out seven. 

Hilgersom homers twice 

Sam Hilgersom (Lethbridge, Alta.) swatted a pair of home runs, a solo and a two-run shot, and walked in Mayville State’s 6-5 Game 2 loss to Dickinson State. On the week, he had six hits, a walk and five RBIs as the Comets dropped 2-of-3. 

Gravel was good in McNeese State loss 

Through five innings, things were okay for McNeese State against Northwestern State in Game 3 of their series. Alexis Gravel (Repentigny, Que.) tossed five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit. He walked three and punched out 10. Upon his exit, the game was tied 2-2 but the bullpen would give up eight en route to a 10-4 loss. 

Hagen, Moseni hit for Antelope Valley 

Two Canadians fueled the offence for Antelope Valley College in their four games this past week. 

Nick Hagen (Edmonton, Alta.) had three hits, walked four times and drove in a pair. 

Keon Moseni (Mississauga, Ont.) stroked eight hits, walked six times, drove in two and stole three bases. He legged out three doubles in a 15-1 win over Porterville. 

Cassie, Franco come through for Mineral Area 

Speaking of Canadian teammates playing well, Noah Cassie (North Delta, BC) and Angelo Franco (Port Moody, BC) both had good weeks as Mineral Area swept Metropolitan. 

Cassie hit four home runs and collected six hits in all. To go along with his hits, he walked five times and drove in 10. He homered twice in a 16-8 Game 2 win. 

Franco chipped in five hits, two walks, four RBIs and a stolen base. He, too, hit a home run in Game 2 of the series. 

Dykstra gets on for George Mason 

Connor Dykstra (Chilliwack, BC) had five hits, four RBIs and was hit by a pair of pitches in four games for George Mason. He went 3-for-6 with an RBI in a 17-16 Game 2 loss to Richmond. 

McHarg the motor of Washburn offence 

There’s no denying the important role Payton McHarg (Saskatoon, Sask.) plays in the Washburn University lineup. He can do it all, just like he did last week. In four games, McHarg had eight hits, walked four times, drove in five, stole a base and was hit by five pitches. Four of his hits were home runs, including a pair of solo shots in a 12-2 Game 1 win over Rogers State. 

Week 10 of the BMOC represents the unofficial halfway point of the college season. 

With lots of great performances so far, there’s no reason to think the second half will be anything but eventful.  

Remember to check back right here each week for the highlights. 

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.