February 13, 2020

BMOC Week 2

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

The college baseball season continued last week with some teams opening their season. An increase in games means more Canadians were in action. Below is a recap of the top performances from the slate of games.

Collymore named Freshman of the Week

It hasn't taken long for Khalid Collymore (Mississauga, Ont.) to find his place in the University of Montevallo Falcons lineup. A three-game set with Trevecca Nazarene saw Collymore fuel the Falcons offence. In Game 1, a 14-3 loss, saw Collymore go 2-for-4. The loss is the only one for the Falcons so far this season. The freshman then went 2-for-6 in a 15-8 Game 2 win. In the rubber match Collymore went 3-for-4 with a walk. The performance in the three-game series caught the eye of the Gulf South Conference as they named Collymore their Freshman of the Week.

Nwogu a Preseason All-American

The Division I campaign doesn’t kick off until this week but Canadians are already grabbing attention. Michigan Wolverine Jordan Nwogu (Ottawa, Ont.) was named to the Preseason All-American 1st Team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Nwogu hit .321 last season with 12 home runs, 46 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He had a .435 on-base percentage and a .557 slugging percentage, as well. The Wolverines lost 2-1 in the best-of-three College World Series final last year to the Vanderbilt Commodores. They will get another crack at No. 2 Vanderbilt to open the 2020 season as they take part in the MLB4 Collegiate Baseball Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz.

OVC tabs Howie Preseason Player of the Year

The Ohio Valley Conference has named Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.) its preseason Player of the Year. In 2019 Howie batted .356, swatted 11 home runs and drove in 45. On the defensive side Howie fielded at a .969 clip.

Keiser’s Canadians come up big

Jacob Charron (Ottawa, Ont.) and Drew Reilly (Cambridge, Ont.) combined for 14 hits over five games for Keiser University. Charron collected six hits, walked twice and drove in six runs. Charron also homered three times, including twice in a 14-2 win over Ava Maria. Reilly had eight hits, three walks, three RBIs and two stolen bases in the four games. Reilly’s best game came in a 13-7 Game 2 win over Edward Waters when he went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a stolen base.

Cloud Country trio helps net two wins

Cloud County Community College took on Fort Scott Community College for a two-game series and three Canadians helped lead the Thunderbirds to the sweep. Josh Laukkanen (Nanaimo, BC) picked up the win in his team’s 6-2 season opening triumph. Laukkanen worked five innings, scattering six hits and the two runs. He walked one and struck out seven. On the offensive side it was Clayton Loranger (Edmonton, Alta.) and Jaden Parsons (Vernon, BC) doing the damage. Loranger walked in the opener and went 4-for-6 with with six RBIs in a 16-7 Game 2 win. He hit a home run and finished a double shy of the cycle in the win. Parsons had a hit, a RBI and swiped a base in Game 1 and also went 4-for-6 in Game 2. He legged out two doubles and drove in a run to help complete the sweep.

Geekie doesn’t allow a hit, gets one

Noah Geekie (Strathclair, Man.) tossed five hitless innings for Barton Community College in Game 4 of their series with Carl Albert State. He walked two and struck out seven to pick up the win. Geekie also had a hit, a walk and a RBI in a Game 1 victory. Barton took 3-of-4.

Diewert adds to home run total

It may be early in the season but Zach Diewert (Chemainus, BC) is already showing his power. He helped lead his Florida Southern Mocs to a 5-1 win over Eckard with a 2-for-3 performance. He hit a solo home run and walked twice in a 6-3 Game 1 win over Columbus State. In Game 2, he had a hit in a 6-3 loss. Columbus State would take Game 3 and the series but Diewert added a solo home run and a walk to his season totals. The senior already has four home runs on the season.

Bells strong in loss

It was a tough loss for Dylan Bells (Regina, Sask.) and St. Mary’s against Lubbock Christian in Game 3 of their series. Bells went six innings, gave up six hits, two runs and a pair of walks in a 2-1 loss. He punched out four along the way.

MacLeod wins

Jakob MacLeod (Toronto, Ont.) threw five innings and picked up the win in Ava Maria’s 11-1 thumping of Culver-Stockton. He surrendered three hits and the one run during his outing. MacLeod was able to work around six walks and struck out one.

Cox comes through

The Hornets of Harris Stowe State received just what they were looking for from right handed pitcher Tyler Cox (Mississauga, Ont.). Cox threw six scoreless innings against Jarvis Christian in a 12-0 win. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out six.

Bradwell strong in relief

James Bradwell (Gibsons, BC) came on in relief for the University of British Columbia and fired four strong innings. He allowed a run, one hit, walked two and struck out six but it wasn’t enough as the Thunderbirds dropped Game 3 of their series with Concordia 7-4. The T-Birds did, however, pick up 2-of-3 wins in the series to open the season.

Vavaroutsos opens season with six hits

It was a long trip across the country for Tony Vavaroutsos (Toronto, Ont.) and the Shippensburg University Raiders (Pennsylvania) as they travelled to California for a three-game series with Stanislaus State. It didn’t end well as the Raiders were swept but Vavroutsos had a good personal start. In Game 1, a 10-6 season opening loss, he went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a stolen base. Game 2 ended in a 7-2 loss but Vavaroutsos did have a hit and a walk. In the finale, a 9-4 loss, he went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.

Tough luck for Van Every

Cole Van Every (West Kelowna, BC) gave up four runs, all unearned, in four innings of work for Southwest Baptist University in a loss to Harding. Van Every gave up two hits, walked two and struck out four but fell to 1-1 on the season.

Morris mashes for Muleriders

Kobe Morris (Victoria, BC) had five hits, two walks, three RBIs and two stolen bases for Southern Arkansas last week. He had two multi-hit games, going 2-for-4 in Game 1 against Missouri Western State and 2-for-3 in Game 3.

Goodall evens record

Looking for his first win of 2020 Garrett Goodall (Nanaimo, BC) allowed three runs over 6 1/3 innings for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in an 8-3 win over Auburn Montgomery. Goodall scattered eight hits, walked one and struck out three to pick up the win, moving to 1-1.

Potter strong again

Jacob Potter (Victoria, BC) improved to 2-0 by tossing eight scoreless innings for Southeastern Oklahoma. Potter allowed four hits and punched out seven in a 3-2 win over Northeastern State.

Four hits for Reyes-Cruz

Faulkner University’s Tommy Reyes-Cruz (Montreal, Que.) collected four hits, a walk, five RBIs and a stolen base in a four-game set with Shawnee State. In Game 4 he had two hits, one of which was a home run in a 19-5 win. Faulkner took all over games in the series.

The Division I campaign kicks off this week. That means even more Canadians get a chance to show off their skills. Check back next week to see how it all plays out.

If you know someone deserving of a mention in the weekly BMOC please email mattbetts41@gmail.com. Please note our weeks run Monday-Sunday.