June 12, 2019

BMOC Week 20

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

The finish line is in sight. Five Canadians were in action last week. Below is a collection of the highlights.

The five in action

The National Collegiate Athletic Association No. 6 Mississippi State Bulldogs are off to Omaha. The Bulldogs swept No. 5 Stanford to punch their ticket. Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) didn't pitch in the best-of-three series. His team will open the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska against Southeastern Conference rival Auburn.

It took the No. 2 Vanderbilt Commodores all three games of the Super Regional to fend off Duke. Their backs were against the wall after getting hammered 18-5 in Game 1 but they rallied for two victories to secure a spot in Omaha. Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) saw action in the opener, striking out in his only at bat. Vanderbilt gets No. 7 Louisville to kick things off.

Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) had himself a fine Super Regional for Auburn. In an 11-7 Game 1 win over No. 14 North Carolina, Julien went 2-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs. One of the hits was a three-run blast in the top of the 9th to give the Tigers an 11-5 lead. Julien worked a walk in a 2-0 Game 2 loss. The only two runs of the game came in the top of the second. The Tigers took Game 3, 14-7 and sent themselves to Omaha in front of 4,089 people. Julien went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in the clinching game.

No. 8 Oklahoma State dropped Games 1 and 3 of their Super Regional with No. 9 Texas Tech. The losses end a season that saw the Cowboys go 40-21 and host a regional. Max Hewitt (Midhurst, Ont.) got into Game 1 of the series with one at bat. He finishes his season hitting .303 with a home run, nine RBIs, a .472 on-base percentage and a .348 slugging percentage in 33 games, making 19 starts.

On the NCAA Division II side of things Eric Lindsay (Cambridge, Ont.) was in Cary, North Carolina as his Central Missouri Mules finished third at the College World Series. The Mules went 3-2 to finish their season. Lindsay went 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA in five appearances in 2019.

How about some recognition

These players seasons may be over but they were recently honoured for their strong play.

Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.) became the sixth freshman in the past six seasons for the Oklahoma Sooners to be named a Freshman All-American. He was named to the team by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. He went 6-4 with a 4.24 ERA in 2019. He walked just 16 in 63 2/3 innings.

Tyler Black (Toronto, Ont.) was named a Freshman All-American by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper for having a standout season with the Wright State Raiders. Black played in 52 games, made 44 starts and hit .353, which was good for second on the team. He also hit seven home runs, drove in 41 and went 8-for-11 in stolen base attempts. Black got on-base at a .469 clip and slugged .600.

Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.) was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-American First Team, which is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Howie finished with a 4.0 Grade Point Average and is majoring in finance.

Jake Sanford (Dartmouth, NS) was named a Second Team All-American by Baseball America. Sanford hit .398 with 22 home runs and 66 RBIs for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. He was also selected with the 105th pick in the third round of this years MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.

Max Wright (Toronto, Ont.) of the Indiana State Sycamores was named a Google Cloud Academic All-American. Wright has a 3.71 GPA in the classroom. He is studying criminology and criminal justice.

Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Alta.) earned National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Second Team All-American honours for his season with Colby College. Coutney hit .422 with 14 home runs and 62 RBIs for the Trojans. He also scored 71 runs in 58 games.

Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) was named NJCAA Division I Honourable Mention All-American. Hicks played in 50 games and hit .370. He added seven home runs, 31 RBIs, 43 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.

Pitcher Logan Hofmann (Muenster, Sask.) picked up NJCAA Division I Third Team All-American honours. The sophomore was 8-4 with a 3.11 ERA over 89 2/3 innings. He appeared in 17 games, 15 of which were starts.

Lefty slugger David Mendham (Dorchester, Ont.) had a huge season for the Connors State Cowboys. Mendham hit .422 with 14 home runs and 85 RBIs in 61 games played. For his performance he was named a NJCAA Division I Second Team All-American.

Wabash College’s Noah Myers (Wyoming, Ont.) is a NJCAA Division I Second Team All-American. Over 59 games, Myers stole 77 bases. He also hit .397 with eight home runs and 60 RBIs.

Matt Turino (Scarborough, Ont.) was recognized as a NJCAA Division I Third Team All-American for Jefferson College. Turino torched pitching, hitting .356 with 4 home runs and 50 RBIs. He also swiped an impressive 30 bases.

*These All American Teams we’re named by the NJCAA Division 1 Baseball Committee

Three Canadians remain. All three are hoping to help their team to the ultimate prize, the College World Series. Check back here next week to read all about the action.

If you know someone deserving of a mention in the weekly BMOC please email Matt Betts at mattbetts41@gmail.com