BMOC Week XVIII: Bourassa, Duffy, Gauthier, Piotto, Seginowich, Turcotte
Vauxhall Jets alum Shawn Grandmont (Lethbridge, Alta.) was 4-for-16 with four RBIs in four games for the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks as they won the West Regional to clinch a spot in the national championship tournament
June 3, 2021
BMOC Week 18
By Matt Betts
Canadian Baseball Network
It’s white-knuckle time in college baseball. Seasons are on the line and plenty of Canadians are right in the thick of the action.
Let’s flashback to the past week and see who stood out.
Seginowich, Szabo, Rams off to DII College World Series
Both Nick Seginowich (Victoria, BC) and Mat Szabo (Sarnia, Ont.) were important players for the Angelo State Rams in their South-Central Regional win.
Seginowich collected five hits, worked a walked, drove in two and was hit by a pitch in three games as the Rams scored 33 runs. The Rams beat No. 5 West Texas A&M 10-2 in Game 1, No. 1 Colorado Mesa 5-2 in Game 2 and West Texas A&M again 18-4 in the final.
Szabo got the start in Game 2 versus Colorado Mesa. He hurled four scoreless innings and allowed three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in the win.
Grandmont, Nighthawks off to Cary
Another Canadian is off to Cary, North Carolina for the Division II College World Series. Shawn Grandmont (Lethbridge, Alta.) was 4-for-16 with four RBIs in four games for the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks as they won the West Regional to clinch a spot in the national championship tournament. Grandmont hit a solo home run in the final, a 12-6 win over Western Oregon. The Nighthawks are 34-8 this season.
Piotto potent as Raiders win the Horizon League
Konner Piotto (Abbotsford, BC) provided six hits, a pair of walks and three RBIs to help the Wright State Raiders to a Horizon League championship. The championship game pitted the Raiders against Milwaukee and Piotto went off, going 4-for-6 with two doubles and three RBIs.
Tyler Black (Toronto, Ont.) was 4-for-13 with a three-run home run over the three contests.
The Raiders are now off to a Regional.
Ontario Terriers grad Sam Turcotte (Toronto, Ont.) was named to the All-America East Conference Second Team after putting together a 6-3 record with a 2.88 for the Stony Brook Seawolves this season. Photo: Stony Brook Athletics
Turcotte tapped as Second Team selection
Senior Sam Turcotte (Toronto, Ont.) was named to the All-America East Conference Second Team last week. Turcotte put together a 6-3 record with a 2.88. He tossed three complete games and struck out 66 in 67 2/3 innings pitched.
Wilson works his way onto All-Tournament team
Jake Wilson (New Lowell, Ont.) pounded out four hits, stole two bases and played spectacular defence for the Liberty Flames in the Atlantic Sun Tournament. The Flames were 2-2 and lost in the championship game to the University of Jacksonville.
Duffy snuffs out Stags, Grant gathers five knocks
A Canisius College Canadian duo ended up playing big roles for the Golden Griffins in their conference tournament.
The Canisius Golden Griffins relied on freshman Matt Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) to give them a quality start in their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament opener and he came through with more than that. Duffy spun a complete game, nine inning performance in a 4-1 win over the Fairfield Stags. He surrendered four hits, walked one and struck out 10 to earn his third win this season. The Stags entered the game 35-1.
Max Grant (Fredericton, NB) had five hits and walked three times in three games. After the Game 1 win, the Griffs dropped back-to-back games to Rider and Fairfield to end their season.
Gauthier a horse for West Texas A&M
Mathieu Gauthier (Candiac, Que.) made a start and then came out of the bullpen the following game in a pair of West Texas A&M victories at the South-Central Regional. With their season on the line after a loss in Game 1, Gauthier spun four scoreless innings and scattered four hits in a 7-6 win over the No. 24 University of Colorado Colorado Springs in Game 2. He walked one and struck out two in the start. The Buffs needed him again in their next contest against No. 1 Colorado Mesa. In that one, he picked up his first save of the year by throwing a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts. It didn’t end with a dogpile, however, as the Buffs dropped the championship game to No. 10 Angelo State.
UFV alum Riley Jepson (Kamloops, BC) was named Co-Male Athlete of the Year by the University of Texas at Tyler Patriots athletic program after leading his team with a .353 batting average. Photo: University of Texas at Tyler Athletics
Jepson named Co-Male Athlete of the Year
Before closing the book on the 2020-2021 year, the University of Texas at Tyler Patriots athletic program had some hardware to hand out. Riley Jepson (Kamloops, BC) was picked as the Co-Male Athlete of the Year for his play on the baseball diamond. Jepson finished with the team lead in average at .353. He launched five home runs, drove in 40, had a .472 on-base percentage and a .519 slugging percentage.
Indian Hills run comes to an end, despite strong performances by two Canadians
It wasn’t the ending that Indian Hills Community College was hoping for as they went 1-2 in the NJCAA Division I College World Series, but it was still an impressive season. Indian Hills beat Crowder 10-3 in Game 1, lost to McLennan 13-11 in Game 2 and dropped Game 3 to Crowder by a 12-8 score.
Pier-Olivier Boucher (St-Joseph-de-Beauce, Que.) stockpiled five hits, walked three times, drove in a pair and stole a base in the three games.
Samuel Fortier (Quebec City, Que.) also had five hits. Fortier walked once, drove in one and stole two bases.
Indian Hills finishes 2021 with a 44-16 record.
Elliot ends season with seven knocks
At the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional, Jesse Elliot (Ajax, Ont.) piled up seven hits, three walks, four RBIs and was hit by a pitch as the University of Charleston went 2-2. Elliot went off for a 4-for-5 game with a pair of long balls, a solo shot and two-run home run, in a 12-8, Game 2 win over West Virginia State.
Markotic with five hits
Leo Markotic mixed in five hits and three RBIs for the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders in three Southland Conference Tournament games. Markotic went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBIs in a 4-3 win over Sam Houston State in the first game of the tournament. The Islanders finished 1-2 to see their season come to an end.
Okotoks Dawgs grad Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) had seven hits in four games for the Southern Illinois Salukis. Photo: SIU Athletics
Regular season, postseason, Peters just hits
It doesn’t matter the place, the time or the stakes, Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) keeps hitting. Peters put up seven hits for the host Southern Illinois Salukis, including three multi-hit games, in four Missouri Valley Conference Tournament games. He added three walks and four RBIs as the Salukis went 2-2. With their season on the line against Indiana State, he posted a 2-for-5 game with a two-run home run and three RBIs. Unfortunately him and his team, they dropped the contest 9-7 to the Sycamore to finish their season 40-20 overall. The Canadian slugger started all 60 games and accumulated 77 hits.
Moretto hits, but Hornets season comes to an end
Steven Moretto (Coquitlam, BC) amassed four hits, a walk and a RBI for the Sacramento State Hornets in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. The Hornets went 1-2 as their season was put to bed.
Bourassa deals for Dons one final time
In his final college start, Landen Bourassa (Lethbridge, Alta.) went out with a gem for the University of San Francisco Dons. Bourassa threw a complete game, nine innings and allowed one run on five hits in a 5-1 win over Santa Clara. He walked one and struck out five as he picked up his seventh win. The righty finished his farewell season with a 7-3 record and a 2.88 ERA over 97 innings.
Clarke named Defensive Player of the Year and to Second Team
Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) didn’t make an error in 38 games in for the Cal State University, Northridge Matadors. His play in the field was rewarded by the Big West Conference as they named him their Defensive Player of the Year.
Aside from his defence, he also hit .324 with 8 home runs, a 1.015 OPS and 15 stolen bases. Those numbers made him an All-Big West Second Team selection.
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It may be June, which typically signals the final days of the college baseball season, but it’s far from over. There’s still a lot of action that will be coming down the pipe in the coming weeks. Don’t miss out, read all about it in the BMOC every week until the final pitch is thrown.
Do you know someone deserving of a mention in the weekly BMOC column? Please email Matt Betts at mattbetts41@gmail.com. Please note our week runs Monday tp Sunday.
Looking for even more coverage of Canadians in college baseball? Follow Matt Betts on Twitter at @Bettsy41.