Ontario Blue Jays grad Garrett Takamatsu (Burlington, Ont.) had 10 hits, earning NJCAA DI Offensive Player of the Week honours.

BMOC Week 8

By: Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

Major League Baseball opening day is right around the corner. The college season is in full swing and Canadians are shining for their schools. The highlights from week eight are below.

Takamatsu drives in 13, earns Player of the Week

Garrett Takamatsu (Burlington, Ont.) had 10 hits, including three home runs, walked twice and drove in 13 runs for Indian Hills last week. In a 13-4 Game 4 win over Colby, Takamatsu went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs and seven RBIs. For his efforts Takamatsu was named NJCAA DI Offensive Player of the Week.

Abram earns fourth win

Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.) threw six innings and gave up an unearned run as the Sooners of Oklahoma downed the University of Texas Arlington 9-1. Abram allowed three hits and walked his first batter of the season in the win. He had three strikeouts to improve to 4-0.

No. 1 Southeastern relies on Oriold-Fraser

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics No.1 team, the Southeastern University Fire, turned over the ball to Bryce Oriold-Fraser (Lethbridge, Alta.) three times last week. The first time was in a 12-0 win over Doane when Oriold-Fraser tossed a scoreless inning and allowed a walk. In a 14-3 win over Viterbo, he went two innings, allowed two hits and a walk, while striking out five. He finished his week with 2 2/3 innings of work in an 11-5 victory over St. Ambrose. In his third appearance he gave up four hits, three runs (one earned), a walk and struck out two. The Fire are 26-3 on the campaign.

Clarke beats Kutztown

Damian Clarke (Carlisle, Ont.) worked six scoreless innings to pick up the win for California University Pennsylvania in their game against Kutztown. Clarke allowed a pair of hits and walks in the 8-0 decision. He also struck out four in his first win.

Saskatoon D-Backs grad RHP Dolan Kunkel (Saskatoon, Sask.) worked 8 1/3 innings in two outings.

Kunkel works a pair of Game 3’s

It was a tough task for Union College’s Dolan Kunkel (Saskatoon, Sask.) in his first appearance as he faced NAIA No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan in Game 3 of their series. Kunkel was up to the challenge, throwing four scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out four. He was back in action in Game 3 of Union’s series with Bluefield. Kunkel lasted 4 1/3 scoreless innings in that one, allowing five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Goodall goes seven

Garrett Goodall (Nanaimo, BC) was excellent for Embry Riddle in a 7-1 win over the University of Auburn at Montgomery. Goodall threw seven innings, allowing an unearned run. He gave up three hits, walked two and punched out nine. Goodall is 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP this season.

UBC sweeps

It was a good weekend for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds as they swept a four-game set from Oregon Tech. Niall Windeler (Toronto, Ont.) got things rolling in Game 1 by throwing a complete game, seven inning shutout in a 10-0 win. The lefty allowed two hits and struck out seven to even his record at 2-2. Barry Caine (Surrey, BC) worked in a 13-8 Game 2 win, throwing an inning and recording a strikeout. He picked up the win in Game 3 by throwing 4 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. Caine walked two and struck out four as he pushed his record to 3-0. The offence was led by Jordan Dray (White Rock, BC). He opened the series with two hits, one being a two-run home run, and a walk in the 10-0 drubbing. Game 2 went the way of the Thunderbirds by a 13-8 score and Dray launched another two-run home run. In Game 3, a 6-4 victory, he had two more hits and a pair of RBIs. He then had two hits, a RBI and was hit by a pitch to help complete the sweep in a 4-3 win.

Canadians help Colby

Matt Coutney (Edmonton, Ont.) and Tucker Zdunich (High River, Alta.) were instrumental in Colby Community College’s 4-1 week. Coutney had seven hits, walked seven times and drove in six. Zdunich hit a solo home run in a 24-7 win over Lamar and finished the week with six hits, a walk, a RBI and a stolen base.

Curtis hits for Kentucky

With 10,622 people in attendance, Elliott Curtis (Waterloo, Ont.) went 3-for-3 with a RBI but it wasn’t enough for the Kentucky Wildcats as they dropped Game 2 of their series 16-4 to NCAA Division I No. 10 LSU. Curtis had five hits, two walks, three RBIs and two stolen bases for the Wildcats last week.

Youngstown State with first win

The 2019 season has been one to forget for Youngstown State as they have hobbled to a 1-17 record so far. They did pick up their first win last week and Drew Dickerson (Port Hope, Ont.) had two hits, two walks, a RBI and a stolen base in the 4-2 win over Pittsburgh. Dickerson had two more hits and a walk in a Game 1 loss to Northern Kentucky. He closed his week with a hit and a walk in a Game 2 loss and a walk and stolen base in a 2-1 loss in Game 3.

Douglas College gets season underway

Douglas College began their season last week with six games. Jared Eifler (Calgary, Alta.) took the loss in a 5-4 loss to Cochise. He threw four innings, allowed four runs (two earned), walked four and struck out four. Eifler got himself into the win column later in the week in a 10-5 win over Riverland. He gave up four unearned runs over five innings. He surrendered four hits and struck out three to even his record at 1-1. Marshall Hogan (North Vancouver, BC) had six hits, walked three times and drove in two for the Royals. Douglas College went 2-4 to open their schedule.

Strother belts a pair

Marcus Strother (Kelowna, BC) hit two home runs to highlight an eight hit week for Southeastern Illinois. His first blast came in a 13-3 win over Southwestern Illinois and his second was in a 17-5 defeat of Frontier. Strother also walked three times, drove in 11 and stole a base.

Canadian pair stand out for Seminole State

Archer Brookman (Pointe-Claire, Que.) and Marc Lebreux (Sainte-Anne, Que.) both had nice weeks for Seminole State (OK) Brookman bashed six hits, walked three times, collected two RBIs and swiped a pair of bases. His Canadian teammate had eight hits total, including a 4-for-5 game with a home run, five RBIs and a stolen base in a 12-4 win over Eastern Oklahoma State. Lebreux launched a pair of home runs in an 8-2 Game 2 win, as well. He also walked twice and stole a base.

Skirrow stays strong

Despite giving up three hits and walking six over five innings, Noah Skirrow (Stoney, Creek, Ont.) kept Hofstra off the board to help Liberty to a 1-0 series clinching Game 3 win. He also struck out seven opposing batters.

Blackwell with multi-hit games

Kyle Blackwell (Waterdown, Ont.) went 3-for-4 to open his week for Cumberland University in a 11-6 win over Indiana South Bend. He then legged out a double in the next game. On deck was the University of Pikeville and in Game 1, Blackwell walked and drove in a run. In Game 2 he had two hits, a walk and two RBIs. His third multi-hit game of the week came in an 11-1 Game 3 win as he had two hits, a walk, a RBI and a stolen base.

Macomb kicks off new campaign

There was no easing into the 2019 season for Macomb Community College. In 11 games, Evyn Sherman (Delhi, Ont.) had 10 hits, three walks, three RBIs and two stolen bases as Macomb went 3-8.

Moore strong in loss

Wesley Moore (Surrey, BC) threw 6 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and three runs (two earned) in a 5-4 Cal State Northridge loss to Iowa. Moore walked two and struck out seven in the outing.

Jones picks up steam

After just an RBI in the first two games of the week, Cooper Jones (Red Deer, Alta.) had six hits in the final three. In a 2-0 loss to Triton he had a hit. Then came a 3-for-3 game with a walk and three RBIs in a 5-3 win over Sussex County. He rounded out his week with two hits, three walks and three RBIs in a 12-10 win over Triton.

Grand performance for Brook

Aiden Brook (Oakbank, Man.) hit a grand slam for Valley City State in a 17-10 loss to Minot State. He had two hits in the game, stole a base and was hit by a pitch. He also had a hit in a 12-3 loss to Benedictine University at Mesa and a hit and RBI in a 3-2 win over Lourdes.

Whitbread stellar, Sycamores sweep

The Indiana State Sycamores continued to roll as they swept The Citadel to improve to 16-2 this season. Tyler Whitbread (Camlachie, Ont.) tossed seven scoreless innings and gave up three hits in an 8-0 Game 3 win. He issued one free pass and punched out seven.

McRae goes five

Parker McRae (Nipawin, Sask.) gave up one run over five innings for the University of Mary to help them to a 4-1 win over Sioux Falls. McRae surrendered five hits, walked two and struck out four. His record now stands at 2-1.

Lazar stays loose for Sioux Falls

There was no shortage of work for Christian Lazar (Mississauga, Ont.) as he pitched in three games last week for the University of Sioux Falls. His first appearance came in an 8-5 win over Notre Dame College when he picked up the win, going 3 1/3 innings, giving up just an unearned run. He scattered four hits, walked one and struck out five. Next, he allowed a hit over 2 2/3 innings and struck out four in a 4-1 Game 1 loss to Mary. His last outing was the shortest as he worked 1/3 of an inning, striking out his only out in a 5-2 Game 2 loss.

Chenier solid for Rams

Evan Chenier (Georgetown, Ont.) earned the win for the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams in their 9-3 win over Marist. Chenier threw three scoreless, hitless innings, and struck out three. He was back on the mound in Game 3 of VCU’s series with Central Florida, working three more innings, giving up five hits, three runs (one earned) with a strikeout.

Nanaimo Pirates Zach Diewert (Chemainus, BC) had two homers and five RBIs for Florida Southern

Burgmann goes six strong

It was a tough loss for the University of Washington as they dropped Game 3 of their series with Oregon 1-0 in 10 innings. Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC) went six scoreless in the loss, working around four hits and two walks. He struck out eight in the no-decision.

Three scoreless appearances for Douglas

Jacob Douglas (Georgetown, Ont.) found himself on the mound three times and didn’t allow a run last week for Garden City. Douglas picked up the win, going 2 1/3 innings in a 6-5 win over Otero. He struck out one in an inning of work as Garden City held on to beat Dodge City 11-10 in Game 3 of their series. In Game 4 he struck out one over two innings in a 16-6 win.

Diewert goes deep twice

Zach Diewert (Chemainus, BC) hit a two- run home run for Florida Southern in their 8-7 Game 2 loss to Eckerd. He followed it up with a three-run blast in a 17-1 Game 3 win. On the week Diewert had eight hits, walked six times, and had five RBIs.

Lampreia allows unearned run

Senior Zach Lampreia (Toronto, Ont.) went 3 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed a pair of hits for Midway during their 14-8 win over Kentucky Christian. He walked one and struck out five. In Game 3 of their series with Point Park he was back on the mound and gave up an unearned run over 1 2/3 innings. He allowed a hit and a walk during the outing.

Myers uses speed

Opposing teams have their hands full when Noah Myers (Wyoming, Ont.) of Wabash Valley gets on base. Myers has stolen 31 bases in 18 games this season. He stole 12 last week to go with 11 hits, two walks and seven RBIs.

McPherson goes 4-1

McCoy Pearce (Kamloops, BC) had three, two-hit games, including a home run in a 30-0 thumping of Manhattan Christian College to open McPherson’s slate of games last week. He walked once and drove in five. Kyle MacKinnon (Caledon, Ont.) is the hitting coach for McPherson.

Majeur makes things happen for Statesmen

The week started for the Delta State Statesmen with a 7-4 loss to Christian Brothers but they bounced back to win Game 2 and 3 to take the series. Matthew Majeur (Pointe-Claire, Que.) went 2-for-5 in the loss, then had two hits, walked twice and drove in a run in the 9-2 Game 2 win. In the finale he had a hit, a walk and stole a base.

Machibroda continues to produce

Nolan Machibroda (Saskatoon, Sask.) has been a huge part of the Central Florida College lineup this season. In a 14-1 win over Florida State Jacksonville, Machibroda hit two home runs and drove in five. He went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in an 11-1 Game 1 win over Santa Fe. He collected two hits each in Game 2 and 3, driving in one in Game 2 and three more in Game 3. Central Florida is 28-3 on the season and Machibroda has hit .364 with five home runs and 42 RBIs in 30 games played.

Marchese homers twice in win

It hasn’t been the season Niagara was hoping for so far but Josh Marchese (Burnaby, BC) had a memorable game in a 12-8 win over Utah Valley. Marchese went 3-for-5 with two, two-run home runs. On the week he had eight hits, walked twice and had six RBIs for the Purple Eagles.

Johnson picks up win No. 6

Lefty Ryan Johnson (Winnipeg, Man.) has had a season to remember so far in 2019. Johnson went seven innings, allowed four hits and two unearned runs in Lubbock Christian’s 10-4 Game 1 win over Texas A&M International. Johnson walked one and struck out seven to improve to 6-0. He owns a 1.31 ERA this season.

Hicks hammers pitching

Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) went 2-for-3 with a home run in Mineral Area’s 4-2 win over State Fair. Hicks hit another home run and walked in their next game, a 7-4 win over State Fair. They then beat Crowley 16-6 and Hicks went 3-for-3 with a walk, three RBIs and four runs scored. Boxscores for Mineral Area’s next two games against North Arkansas were not posted.

Kula collects four hits

Ryan Kula (Toronto, Ont.) had four hits for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. He drew a walk and drove in two in the three games. Their stats were not posted for their final two games against Connors State.

Marks the man again for USC Upstate

Jordan Marks (Bright’s Grove, Ont.) took the ball in Game 1 for USC Upstate in their series with UNC Asheville and went seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs. He struck out six in the 10-2 win.

Kush comes through for Raiders

An unearned run was all Jacob Kush (Guelph, Ont.) would allow for the Northwest Florida State Raiders in their 9-1 win over Pensacola State College. Kush gave up five hits, walked one and struck out 12.

Dearing pitches Polk State to win

Tate Dearing (Surrey, BC) improved to 2-2 on the season after going five innings and giving up two runs (one earned) in Polk State’s 13-3 win over Hillsborough. He scattered three hits, three walks and punched out two.

Edmonton Prospects grad Aiden Huggins (Edmonton, Alta.)had a week to remember for Illinois State.

Hot start for Huggins

Aiden Huggins (Edmonton, Alta.) came out on fire to start the week for Illinois State. In an 18-6 win over Southeast Missouri State he went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two RBIs. The following game he went 4-for-5 in a 16-9 win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He had a hit and a RBI in a 7-2 win against Central Michigan in Game 1 of that series.

Cox gets work

The first appearance on the week for Tyler Cox (Mississauga, Ont.) came in Harris-Stowe State’s 18-13 win over Missouri Baptist University when he threw a scoreless 1 2/3 innings. He was given the start in Game 2 of their series with Central Baptist College and gave up nine hits and three walks over six innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) and struck out three in a 3-0 loss.

Bedard shows off his bat

Four hits, a RBI and two stolen bases is a great way to start the week. Alex Bedard (Levis, Que.) did that for Southwestern Oklahoma in their 14-6 win over NCAA DII No. 9 Southern Arkansas. In a three game set with Ouachita Baptist, Bedard had six hits, a RBI and two stolen bases.

Reilly powers No. 17 Keiser to series win

Drew Reilly (Cambridge, Ont.) had six hits, including a three-run home run in the opener, for NAIA No. 17 in their series with Ave Maria. He walked once and drove in five as Keiser took 2-of-3 and improved to 20-10 on the year. Reilly is currently hitting .338.

Michigan State continues to struggle

The Michigan State Spartans fell to 3-15 after being swept in a four-game series with the University of Connecticut. Royce Ando (Mississauga, Ont.) had a hit and two walks in Game 1, two hits, a walk and a RBI in Game 2, a hit, a walk and was hit by a pitch in Game 3 and had a hit in Game 4.

Thibault hits

Zach Thibault (Yarmouth, NS) went 3-for-4 in Asbury’s 8-0 win over the University of Cincinnati-Clermont. He finished with four hits on the week.

Schlosser big for Beavers

Wyatt Schlosser (Saskatoon, Sask.) went 4-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs for Minot State in their 17-10 win over Valley City State. The next game against Nebraska Wesleyan he had two hits and two RBIs in a 13-2 win.

Peters pounds the ball for Chandler-Gilbert

Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) had eight hits, including three straight multi-hit games to open the week for Chandler-Gilbert. He walked three times and drove in two.

Eight game week for Three Rivers

It was a hectic week for Three Rivers as they played eight games. Reece Reading (Listowel, Ont.) had 10 hits, six walks, eight RBIs and stole a base. His best game was in the eighth contest as he went 4-for-6 with a walk and three RBIs.

Vauxhall Jets Nolan Rattai (Medicine Hat, Alta.) had a four-hit week with Columbia. ’

Rattai has five hits in four games

Nolan Rattai (Medicine Hat, Alta.) went 2-for-3 with a walk in Columbia’s 14-3 win over Hannibal-LaGrange. After walking, driving in a run and being hit by a pitch in Game 1 against Park University he had a hit, a walk and a RBI in Game 2. He finished the series with a 2-for-3 game with a walk and RBI. Columbia swept the three-game series.

Lantigua opens week with a bang

John Lantigua (Quebec City, Que.) went 3-for-4 with a solo home run to open the week for NAIA No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan in their 17-8 win over Baker University. He had nine hits the rest of the way. In a 17-4 win in Game 2 of their series with Tabor he went 5-for-5 with a three-run home runs and six RBIs. He had eight RBIs in total on the week.

Charleston wins 5-of-6

The University of Charleston had a packed week playing six games. Gianfranco Morello (Toronto, Ont.) had seven hits, walked four times, drove in five stole three bases and was hit by a pitch. He hit a solo home run in a 3-2 win over Urbana.

Babcock beats Southeast

Braden Babcock (Oshawa, Ont.) worked six innings and gave up four runs (two earned) to help McCook win the final game of their three-game series with Southeast. Babcock allowed four hits, walked four and struck out seven.

Pilat plays well

In an 8-3 Game 2 win for Jamestown over Northwestern College, Drake Pilat (Winnipeg, Man.) went 3-for-4 in his best day at the dish last week. He finished his week with seven hits and a stolen base.

Eagles Plantes Sports’ David LeBlanc (Leduc, Alta.) had 14 hits this week.

LeBlanc hits .500

David LeBlanc (Leduc, Alta.) went 14-for-28 in eight games this past week for Husson. He posted a 1.196 OPS and had six RBIs.

Warken with a strong week

Erskine’s Cole Warken (Regina, Sask.) played in four games and collected 10 hits. He had one hit and a walk in a 7-3 loss to Southern Wesleyan. He then went 4-for-5 with a stolen base in a 9-4 win over the University of South Carolina Aiken. In a 7-5 loss to Emmanuel he had two hits. Erskine dropped a second game to Emmanuel by a 5-4 score but Warken went 3-for-5.

Loranger comes up big for Cloud County

Clayton Loranger (Edmonton, Alta.) pounded out eight hits and walked twice for Cloud County in five games. Loranger also drove in three.

Sanderson starts strong

Carter Sanderson (Illderton, Ont.) had a big game to start his week for Alma College, going 4-for-5 with a RBI in their win over Oberlin College. Sanderson had a hit and a walk in a 2-1 loss to Defiance College. In a 4-3 loss to Baldwin Wallace University he had a hit and a RBI.

Halford beats up on Bethesda

Braden Halford (Port Hope, Ont.) had three hits in both of Lourdes University’s two games with Bethesda last week. In the first game he went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and then went 3-for-5 with four RBIs in their second matchup. He also walked twice during the week.

Turino gets on

In five games for Jefferson College last week Matt Turino (Scarborough, Ont.) collected six hits, walked three times and had four RBIs. Turino also stole two bases to bring his total to 13 on the season.

Another week of the college baseball season is complete. Many more games will be played this week and Canadians hope to have an impact. Make sure to come back next week to read all about it.

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