May 20, 2024

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network 

The Division I regular season wrapped up this past weekend, meaning all of college baseball is into postseason play. 

Who were the top performers from May 13 to 19?

Let’s take a look. 

UBC bows out in NAIA Opening Round  

A loss to Arizona Christian brought the University of British Columbia’s season to an end just two wins short of the NAIA World Series. 

Sean Heppner (Point Roberts, Wash.) got the Thunderbirds’ run to the final of the Opening Round started with eight scoreless innings in a 5-2 win over Embry-Riddle. Heppner allowed three hits, walked one and struck out 11. 

Domingo Vicarte (Vancouver, BC) held his team in it in Game 2 against No. 5 Lewis-Clark State. He lasted seven innings and surrendered two runs on seven hits in an 8-1 loss. The right-hander walked two and fanned five. 

With the season on the line in Game 4 against Lewis-Clark State, Daniel Orfaly (White Rock, BC) delivered 5.2 innings of one run baseball. He gave up five hits, worked around six walks and struck out one in the 8-3 win that sent the T-Birds to the final. 

At the plate for UBC, Aaron Marsh (Nanaimo, BC) led the way with 11 hits, a walk and five RBI. He hit a solo home run in the win over Lewis-Clark State and a two-run home run against Arizona Christian. 

Cameron ties Niagara record 

Former Fieldhouse Pirate Zach Cameron (Hamilton, Ont.) tied the Niagara University single-season saves record by securing his 10th of the season in a 6-3 Game 2 win over Canisius. Cameron gave up an unearned run on two hits over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out one. 

Gollert, Thomas lead Bears to 3-1 week 

Two Canadians played instrumental roles in the Missouri State Bears’ 3-1 record last week. 

Taeg Gollert (Mississauga, Ont.) had seven hits, three walks, six RBIs and was hit by a pitch. He went 4-for-5 with a three-run home run during an 11-4 Game 1 victory over Southern Illinois. 

Kaleb Thomas (Hagersville, Ont.) got the start in Game 2 of the series and tossed five innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits. He walked three and struck out four Saluki hitters. 

Jacklin finishes regular season strong 

Blake Jacklin (St. Jacobs, Ont.) had a hit, a walk and an RBI as East Tennessee State took down Miami (OH) 9-3 in Game 1 of their final regular season series. Jacklin then went 3-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a stolen base in a Game 2 win before hitting a three-run home run as part of a three-hit, four RBI Game 3. The Buccaneers took Game 2 but dropped the finale.  

Bushey with six hits 

Western Illinois was swept in a three-game series by Southern Indiana but Liam Bushey (Mission, BC) was a bright spot at the plate. Bushey had a hit in Game 1, two hits and an RBI in Game 2 and three hits, including a two-run home run, in Game 3. 

Hemmerling goes the distance  

Reece Hemmerling (Beaumont, Alta.) threw a complete game to lead Barton to a 5-3 win over Hutchinson in the Plains District Tournament. He allowed three runs on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The Cougars finished the tournament 2-2. 

Crowell and Zdunich power Reinhardt to World Series 

The Reinhardt University Eagles are World Series bound after winning their NAIA Opening Round Waleska bracket. 

Nash Crowell (Yarmouth, N.S.) had six hits, two walks and five RBIs in three games. He hit a two-run home run against Point Park and a solo shot in a clinching win over Keiser. 

Tucker Zdunich (High River, Alta.) collected five hits, walked and drove in six runs. He hit a solo shot in a 6-4 Game 1 win over Keiser and a three-run home run against Point Park. 

Knight downs Northern Colorado 

Logan Knight (London, Ont.) earned his fifth win of the season with five scoreless innings for North Dakota State against Northern Colorado. Knight allowed four hits, walked one and struck out four as the Bison rolled to a 9-3 victory. Next up is Game 1 of the Summit League Tournament against Oral Roberts on Wednesday. 

Leroux laces seven hits for Florida Atlantic 

Brando Leroux (Markham, Ont.) pounded out seven hits, walked four times and drove in two in the final week of the regular season for the Florida Atlantic Owls. He hit a solo home run as part of a three-hit game in a 28-18 midweek loss to Florida Gulf Coast. 

Gomm homers three times 

Infielder Austin Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.) homered in the first three games of LSU Shreveport’s NAIA Opening Round tournament. It began with a two-run home in a 6-5 loss to Talladega. He followed that with another two-run shot in a win over Concordia. In Game 3, he swatted a solo home run as the Pilots downed Talladega 11-5. When it was all said and done, Gomm had put together five hits, five walks, seven RBIs and a stolen base as his team went 2-2. 

Dessureault does damage 

Yohann Dessureault (Trois-Rivières, Que.) went 4-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs as Stetson took down No. 10 Florida State 10-5. He then chipped in a pair of hits in a three-game sweep of Central Arkansas. 

Poole back at it 

Last week’s Canadian Baseball Network College Player of the Week, Tom Poole, had another impressive performance for Dallas Baptist University. He went 4-for-4 with a two-run home run, three RBIs, a stolen base and a hit by pitch as the Patriots beat Middle Tennessee 15-1 in their series opener. After hitting a double in a Game 2 win, he had a hit and walked twice during a Game 3 loss. The Patriots open the Conference USA Tournament versus New Mexico State. 

Carinci with a four-hit game 

Justin Carinci (Ajax, Ont.) had four hits, one of which was a solo home run, four RBIs and was hit by a pitch as Eastern Kentucky defeated Morehead State 14-5. Later in the week, he contributed a hit, two walks and a stolen base in a 2-1 series win over Jacksonville. 

Waller wows in Region 4 championship

Needing to win two straight to claim the Region 4 title, Kaleb Waller (Drinkwater, Sask.) took the ball for Kankakee Community College and threw a complete game shutout as the Cavaliers downed Madison College 9-0. Waller scattered three hits, walked two and struck out two. The Cavaliers would end up dropping the second game.

If that wasn't enough to impress, he also threw 2 2/3 innings to pick up the win earlier in the tournament against Black Hawk College.

Rage on

Louisiana Rajun Cajuns LP Langevin (Quebec, Que.) earned a spot on the All-Sun Belt Conference postseason as well as taking Pitcher of the Year honors. Langevin led the conference with 97 strikeouts, holding opponent to a .163 batting average. The reliever had a 6-1 won-loss record. He finished the season among the Top 10 in the league with a 3.43 ERA, seven saves, six wins and 14 games finished. Louisiana went 14-1 over the first half of the Sun Belt Conference season and finished 23-7 to claim the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament, which begins Wednesday. The Ragin’ Cajuns are seeking their third straight tournament championship game appearance.

It’s the most exciting time of the year for college baseball fans as more postseason baseball is on the schedule this week. 

Check back in seven days for the Canadian highlights from across all levels. 

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.