Ontario Nationals alum Blake Gillespie (Lucan, Ont.) threw a complete-game shutout against Florida Atlantic for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Photo: University of North Carolina at Charlotte Athletics

April 28, 2025

BMOC Week 14

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

The final weekend in April has come and gone, as have several more regular season schedules.

Let’s take a look at which Canadians were significant contributors for their teams between April 21 and 27.

Gillespie tosses complete game

Surprise, surprise, Blake Gillespie (Lucan, Ont.) threw another gem for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The former Ontario National spun a complete game shutout in a 3-0 Game 1 win over Florida Atlantic. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out 12.

Reinhardt secures regular season title

With a three-game sweep of Columbia International, the Reinhardt University Eagles captured the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular season crown.

Two Canadians were critical in their last three wins.

Nash Crowell (Yarmouth, N.S.) produced five hits, walked twice, drove in four and stole a base. He swatted a solo and two-run home run in a 10-0 Game 3 victory.

Right-hander Tate Dearing (Surrey, BC) threw six scoreless innings, allowing three runs and two walks in that Game 3 win. He struck out six.

Fitzpatrick goes eight scoreless

Ashton Fitzpatrick (Toronto, Ont.) threw eight scoreless innings, giving up two hits and four walks as Antelope Valley College downed Bakersfield 15-0. Fitzpatrick fanned eight in the outing.

Gilbert, Fujie power Campbellsville offence

Two Canadian’s finished the regular season on a high as Campbellsville University went 3-1 over the final week of games.

Antony Gilbert (Montreal, Que.) went 3-for-3 with a three-run home run, a walk and five RBIs in a big 21-3 win over Lindsey Wilson to close out the campaign. In the three games prior, he walked three times and drove in a run.

Yosuke Fujie (Mission, BC) chipped in eight hits, three walks, six RBIs and a stolen base. He hit a grand slam in a 13-0 Game 1 victory over Lindsey Wilson and a solo shot during a Game 2 loss.

Windsor Selects grad Kohan Merritt (Emeryville, Ont.) belted two grand slams for Cuyhoga Community College last week. Photo: Cuyhoga Community College Athletics

Merritt mashes two grand slams

Kohan Merritt (Emeryville, Ont.) hit two grand slams as part of an 11-hit week for Cuyhoga Community College. He added a walk, 11 RBI and three stolen bases in the six games.

Lachance homers twice

Another familiar face to this column, Deiten Lachance (Sherbrooke, Que.), had a good week. He collected four hits, two of which were home runs, walked twice and drove in eight in McLennan Community College’s four-game series win against Vernon College.

Levesque with two, three-hit games

Matt Levesque (Gatineau, Que.) laced seven hits, drove in four and stole three bases over three games for Western Nebraska. He went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two stolen bases during a Game 1 win over Luna. Two games later in Game 3, he went 3-for-4 again with a home run, two RBIs and a stolen base.

Villeneuve hits in Texas Tech series win

Texas Tech won games 1 and 3 of their series with No. 16 Arizona. Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau, Que.) produced five hits, including a two-run home run in a Game 1 victory and a solo shot in a Game 2 loss.

Husband throws complete game

Keaton Husband (Weyburn, Sask.) allowed four runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks to help Minnesota West Community and Technical College to a 5-4 victory over Riverland Community College. He struck out one as the Blue Jays secured a split.

Toronto Mets alum Stefan Machkovski (Toronto, Ont.) tossed six scoreless innings in his start for Garrett College. Photo: Garrett College Athletics

Machkovski improved to 2-1

Stefan Machkovski (Toronto, Ont.) threw six scoreless innings to lead Garrett College to a 9-1 victory over Montgomery College. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three.

Rozdeba with three-hit game

Valley City State’s Kaden Rozdeba (Strathclaire, Man.) went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBIs in a midweek win over Dakota Wesleyan. During a four-game series against Dickinson State, he walked twice and was hit by a pitch.

Benedictson bookends week with home runs

Beau Benedictson (Garibaldi, BC) hit a walkoff three-run home run in a six-run, ninth inning as Southwestern Oregon Community College downed Clackamas 8-5 in Game 1 of their four-game series. Benedictson went 3-for-4 with a walk in the game. In the three that followed, he had six hits, a walk and three RBIs. He swatted a solo shot in the finale to help seal the sweep.

Hull keeps hitting, driving in runs

Noah Hull (Scarborough, Ont.) hit two solo shots, collected nine hits in all and drove in seven for the University of Mary. He also walked four times in five games.

Lewis lasts five scoreless

Earlham College received five scoreless innings from Braeden Lewis (Oshawa, Ont.) to help them defeat Ohio Wesleyan 7-6. He allowed a hit and struck out one.

Grand River Flying Squirrels alum Jackson Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) pitched five scoreless innings in his start for South Carolina. Photo: Twitter/X

Soucie stymies North Florida

Southpaw Jackson Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) tossed five scoreless innings, surrendering three hits and striking out three in South Carolina’s 3-2, 10 inning win over North Florida.

Bydlowski, Young shine for Douglas

Douglas College was swept in a four-game series by Edmonds but Cohen Bydlowski (Kelowna, BC) and Carson Young (Surrey, BC) were standouts.

Bydlowski put together a six-hit series with a walk.

Young had four hits, a walk, two RBIs and two stolen bases.

Bishop with four hits in two games

Andrew Bishop (Kitchener, Ont.) collected four hits, including a home run, three walks and three RBIs in a pair of Georgia Highland Community College wins. He went 3-for-5 with the home run and two RBIs to power the Chargers to a 9-3 victory over East Georgia College.

McKay with two homer game for Niagara

Curtis McKay (Dorchester, Ont.) chipped in seven hits, a walk, seven RBIs and two stolen bases as Niagara won two-of-three against Sacred Heart. He went 4-for-5 with two, two-run home runs and six RBI in Game 3.

Mitchell leaves the yard three times

Mack Mitchell (Toronto, Ont.) produced five hits, three walks and five RBIs in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s three-game sweep of Arkansas at Little Rock. He hit a pair of solo home runs in Game 1 and a two-run shot in the finale.

Windsor Selects grad Kurt Barr (Saint Joachim, Ont.) permitted just one run in six innings in his start for Michigan. Photo: University of Michigan Athletics

Barr shuts down in-state rival

Right-hander Kurt Barr (Saint Joachim, Ont.) threw six innings and allowed one run on six hits as Michigan beat Michigan State 8-2. Barr walked two and struck out two.

Wrubleski hits homers No. 1 and 2

Catcher Jacob Wrubleski (Okotoks, Alta.) hit his first two home runs of the season, a three-run and solo shot, in Gonzaga’s 11-4 Game 2 win over San Diego. He played in three other games during the week, collecting three hits and being hit by a pitch

Gaitens has four-hit game

Connor Gaitens (Courtland, Ont.) hit two home runs and finished with four hits and four RBIs as Southeastern Community College beat Des Moines Area Community College 13-10. He then drove in a run in a Game 1 win over Southwestern Community College.

Orfaly, Young help UBC clinch regular season title

A split with NAIA No. 22 Lewis-Clark State over the weekend secured the Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season crown for the University of British Columbia.

Daniel Orfaly (White Rock, BC) got the start in Game 4 and delivered eight innings of work in a 9-2 win. He yielded two runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out two.

Russell Young (Surrey, BC) provided plenty of offence out of the leadoff spot over the four games as he contributed eight hits, three walks, six RBIs and was hit by a pitch. He hit a three-run home run in a Game 2 win before hitting a pair of solo shots in Game 3.

The T-Birds will now host the CCC Tournament.

Okotoks Dawgs Academy alum Logan Grant (Chestermere, Alta.) had nine hits and six RBIs in five games for the Bellevue Bruins this past week. Photo: Bellevue Athletics

Grant, Makarus close out season strong for No. 24 Bellevue

A pair of Alberta boys finished up their regular seasons with stellar performances.

Logan Grant (Chestermere, Alta.) and Ayden Makarus (Okotoks, Alta.) helped the Bruins to a 4-1 week.

Grant totalled nine hits, a walk and six RBI. He hit a solo home run in the finale of a four-game sweep of the University of Jamestown. In 49 games played, Grant is hitting .339 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs and a 1.085 OPS.

Makarus mashed three home runs, a three-run and solo shot in Game 2 against Jamestown and a solo homer in Game 4. In all, he had six hits, two walks, seven RBIs and a stolen base. Over 37 games, Makarus owns a .322 average with 15 home runs and a 1.187 OPS.

Next up for the Bruins is the North Star Athletic Association Tournament.

For some levels of college baseball, the postseason has arrived.

For others, the regular season continues.

Regardless, we’ll have you covered with all the highlights each week right here in 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 Canadian baseball coverage all season long.