Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.), the Okotoks Dawgs grad, now at Indinia earred national player of the week honours.

Big Men On Campus: Week 9
By Matt Betts
Canadian Baseball Network
There are some new faces that have made their way into this week’s edition of the BMOC. That, combined with some who have made themselves regulars each week made for a good showing for Canadians in college baseball. Here are the best of the best from the last week.

Lloyd is nation’s best
No one was better than Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) over the past week. Lloyd did a little bit of everything for the Indiana Hoosiers to lead them to four wins in four tries. Let’s start at the dish. In Game 1 of Indiana’s series with Northwestern he went 4-for-5 with three, yes three, home runs. Two of those shots were of the solo variety and the other was a three-run blast. He was back at it in Game 2 of the series, launching another three-run home run. In the finale, he went a cool 4-for-5 again, this time with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. As if that wasn’t enough he also got it done on the mound in three of the four games. In a midweek game against Cincinnati he picked up the save, tossing 1 1/3 innings, allowing a hit and a walk and striking out two. In Game 1 against Northwestern he threw a scoreless inning. He picked up his second save in Game 3, coming in for 2/3 of an inning and striking out both outs he recorded. For his performance he was named Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week. He was also named Big 10 Player of the Week. On the offensive side, he currently has a .327 average with five home runs, 17 RBIs, a .400 OBP and a .694 SLG. On the other end of the spectrum he is also 2-0 with two saves and a 2.79 ERA in six appearances on the mound.

Jafine with not one but two complete games
Adam Jafine (Toronto, Ont.) was handed a loss and a win despite throwing two complete games last week. His first came in a 4-0 loss to Fairmont State where he threw seven innings, giving up six hits and four runs (three earned). He struck out seven and walked three. He bounced back with another complete game against Notre Dame College later in the week. He tossed another seven innings, this time surrendering just four hits and a run. He struck out four and walked three. His record now stands at 3-2.

Osborne earns South Region honours
J.D. Osborne (Whitby, Ont.) was named NCBWA South Region Player of the Week for his performance in the previous week. He didn’t slow down this week either as he pounded out seven hits, walked once and drove in five runs in a loss to Valdosta State and a series win over Embry-Riddle. The biggest news? He didn’t hit a home run.

Young enters the column
Old Dominion’s Jared Young (Prince George, Alta.) had a week that couldn’t be ignored. In a 14-4 drubbing of Princeton he went 3-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs. They then dumped Princeton again, 7-1 and Young chipped in with another hit. In their series opener against the University of Texas San Antonio he went 4-for-5 with a pair of RBIs. He rounded out his weekend with two more hits, a walk and a RBI.

Schulz strokes for Minot State
Jordan Schulz’s (Strasbourg, Sask.) average is no joke. The Beavers outfielder currently possesses a .481 average, good enough to lead the team. He doesn’t appear to be showing any signed of slowing down either. This past week he had 11 knocks, including a home run and a triple in a 13-10 win over Dickinson State. He also walked twice, was hit by two pitches and drove in nine runs. He used his legs on three occasions to swipe a trio bases.

McDougall mashes six hits
Game 1 was Geordie McDougall’s (Lumsden, Sask.) best as he went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in a 13-10 Minot State win over Dickinson State. He then had a hit, a walk and a RBI in a 21-2 thumping of the same Dickinson State team. In Game 2 of Minot State’s series with Concordia-St.Paul he stroked a double and was hit by a pitch. He finished the series collecting a hit in Game 4. Minot State went 5-1 on the week.

Cuch crushes opposing pitching
Jordan Schulz and Geordie MacDougall must have inspired Jacob Cuch (Airdrie, Alta.) in the meetings last week. Cuch smashed 11 hits, as well, in six games. Arguably his best performance was against Minot State in a game Dickinson State dropped 21-2. Cuch went 3-for-3 with a solo home run in that one. He is currently hitting at a .451 clip.

Hrynkiw raking for Connors State
Tony Hrynkiw (Brampton, Ont.) was involved in 11 of Connors States 23 runs scored in their 23-10 win over Northern Oklahoma Tonkawa. He went 4-for-5 with a home run, a walk, five RBIs and six runs scored. He has 40 RBIs so far in 2017.

Armstrong with good series for Wesmen
It was a stellar weekend for Cole Armstrong (Winnipeg, Man.) despite the Winnipeg Wesmen dropping all four games they played to Bellevue University. He went 2-for-4 with a RBI in a Game 1, 18-7 loss. In Game 2, a 6-2 defeat, he had a hit. After adding another hit in Game 3 he went 2-for-3 in the final game.

Esau excels for Frank Phillips
After collecting a hit and a RBI in a 14-4 loss to Odessa, Brett Esau (Meadow Lake, Sask.) had himself a solid series against Western Texas. In Game 1, a 14-11, loss he went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Game 2 saw him go 2-for-4 again with a walk, a RBI and four runs scored. He doubled and tripled in the heartbreaking 20-19 loss. Frank Phillips bounced back behind another 2-for-4 game with a home run from Esau to claim a 9-6 win in Game 3. He also had two doubles and three RBIs in that win. They earned a split by taking Game 4, 13-12. Esau went 2-for-3 with another home run, two walks and five RBIs. He is hitting .327 with six home runs and 34 RBIs so far in 2017.

TT slams 11 hits
Another new face had eleven hits over the last week. Tyson Troscinski (Hanmer, Ont.) hit a grand slam in a game versus Allegany College of Maryland in the middle of a great week. He drove in 11 runs and leads Chesapeake with 33 on the season.

Clarke continues to hit
Tristan Clarke (Brampton, Ont.) had three home runs in a series with Central Arkansas but it was not enough as the University of New Orleans dropped 2-of-3. In Game 1 of the series, a 6-5 loss, Clarke hit a three-run home run. The following game, an 11-4 win, he hit two solo shots and finished 3-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs. New Orleans now prepares for a midweek contest against Southern Mississippi before hosting fellow Canadian Dawson Yates (Kelowna, BC) and the Islanders of Texas A&M Corpus Christi on the weekend.

Storrie appears twice, wins one
Galveston College turned to Kristjan Storrie (Langley, BC) twice and he delivered both times. In a 3-2 loss to Temple he hardly broke a sweat throwing a scoreless 1/3 of an inning. He then tossed five scoreless innings of relief in a 6-5 win over Wharton. He allowed just two hits, struck out six and walked four. He picked up the win and moved his record to 2-0.

Multi-hit games for Yorko
Tyler Yorko (Burnaby, BC) had three straight multi-hit games in three wins over the College of Idaho. He went 2-for-4 in Games 1 and 2 and 2-for-6 in a 16 inning, 6-5 Game 3 win. Game 4 of the series was suspended due to weather.

Hyland flying high for IWCC
Kobe Hyland (Spruce Grove, Alta.) makes his way into the weekly column thanks to nine hits in the five games he played in last week. He went 3-for-4 twice and totaled seven RBIs in those two games. The Reivers are 20-9 this season.

Tevlin leads BU to win
There was a total of five hits in Binghamton’s 1-0 win over UMass Lowell. The biggest of them came off the bat of Luke Tevlin (Toronto, Ont.). In the eighth inning Tevlin hit a solo shot to give the Bearcats all the scoring they needed enroute to a 1-0 win.

Kunkel has two almost identical appearances
It was almost like watching a game on repeat and Talon Kunkel (Saskatoon, Sask.) will certainly take it. In Game 2 of Union College’s series with Truett McConnell they handed the ball to Kunkel and he worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings with two punch outs and a walk. He again tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 3 with two strikeouts and a walk. He surrendered two hits in the third game.

X gets the W
Xavier Bilodeau (Quebec City, Que.) picked up the win against Rowan College at Gloucester for his Monroe College teammates. He threw 6 2/3 innings, scattering six hits, two runs (one earned), with six strikeouts and two walks.

Whitby boys drive California U of Pennsylvania offence
It was a toss-up between David Marcus (Whitby, Ont.) and Kristian Webb (Whitby, Ont.) as to who had the better week for California University of Pennsylvania. Marcus got his week started with a 4-for-4 day with a two-run home run, two doubles and a walk against Pitt-Johnstown. Webb went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Game 2 saw Marcus walk twice and Webb go 2-for-3 with another RBI. Both went 3-for-4 in Game 3, Marcus drove in four and Webb drove in one with two doubles and a triple. Marcus walked twice and Webb walked three times in the series finale as they completed the sweep.

Gapp continues unbelievable season
Noah Gapp (St. Albert, Alta.) is putting up video game numbers in 2017 and he kept it going this past weekend with a complete game win over Georgetown College. The University of the Cumberlands starter went all nine, giving up just seven hits, a single run with nine strikeouts and a walk. He is now 7-1 this year with a sparkling 0.72 ERA. His seven wins has already matched his 2016 total and there is still time to go. Gapp was named Mid South Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance in the previous week.

Johnson-Batillana steady in Davenport W
Krystien Johnson-Batillana (Hamilton, Ont.) gave Davenport University exactly what they needed with his quality start. He went six innings, gave up three hits, two runs (one earned) with five strikeouts and a walk. He picked up the win and is now an impressive 5-1.

Brantford boy with complete game shutout
Brady Cappe (Brantford, Ont.) decided to take over Lake Land’s game with Shawnee. Cappe threw a complete game shutout in the 7-0 win. He gave up eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks to improve his record to 3-2.

Freshman pitching like a senior
College ball clearly isn’t intimidating Niagara University’s Alex MacKinnon (Aurora, Ont.). MacKinnon tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout in a 10-2, Game 1, NU win over Manhattan. He was thrust back into action in Game 2 where he worked another three scoreless innings. He allowed a hit and a walk in the 4-2 loss. Niagara dropped the series 2-1 to the Jaspers. MacKinnon currently holds a 2-0 record with 1.96 ERA.

Libke starts, relieves
Jared Libke (Saskatoon, Sask.) showed his versatility this past week for the University of Arkansas Monticello Boll Weevils. In a 5-2 UAM win over Arkansas Tech, Libke started and went four innings, giving up two hits and a run. He struck out three and walked three. He again saw action in Game 1 of the Boll Weevils series with Southwestern Oklahoma, a game UAM took 16-10. Libke this time came out of the bullpen and threw 2 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings. He struck out four and walked two.

Kirwer named MAAC Student-Athlete of the Week
Tanner Kirwer (Sherwood Park, Alta.) was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Student-Athlete of the Week in part for his performances in a series loss to Manhattan as they opened conference play. In Game 1 he had a double and two RBIs in a 10-2 win. Game 2 saw him go 3-for-3 with another double and a stolen base in a loss. In the final game, a 6-5 loss, he had another hit. He is hitting .312 with a home run and 11 RBIs, .426 OBP, .519 SLG and is 12-for-13 in stolen base attempts in 19 games. The Purple Eagles are 10-9 overall (1-2 MAAC). They are idle until Saturday when they host St. Peter’s University in their second MAAC series.

Another complete game
Connor Burns (St. Albert, Alta.) allowed just a single run on eight hits with five strikeouts in his complete game win over Barton. He is 5-1 with a 3.86 ERA with 39 K’s in 46 2/3 innings pitched.

Noble named Pitcher of the Week
University of British Columbia starter Connor Noble (Vancouver, BC) was named the Red Lion Pitcher of the Week for his seven scoreless innings he pitched in a 7-0 win over the College of Idaho. He allowed seven hits, struck out six and walked only one.

Rock, rock solid for Mayville State
It was another complete game for a Canadian. Kody Rock (Canora, Sask.) went seven scoreless innings, picking up the for Mayville State over Valley City State. He gave up five hits with seven strikeouts and a walk. He is 5-2 with a 3.09 ERA on the campaign.

Scheftz dealt a loss over two appearances
Jordan Scheftz threw a scoreless inning, allowing a hit and striking out three in a midweek game against Bethune Cookmen. He then was dealt the loss in Game 1 of a weekend series with Dartmouth. He came on in the top of the 9th inning, allowed an unearned run with a strikeout and two walks in the 4-3 loss.

Brodt with two appearances and a win
After a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts against Frank Phillips, Odessa College’s Matthew Brodt (Penticton, BC) picked up the win in Game 1 of a series with New Mexico Military. He gave up an unearned run over three innings. He did not allow a hit, struck out two and walked four in the 8-7 win.

Robertson leads Murray State to 4-1 week
Chandler Robertson (Ancaster, Ont.) got his week started with a hit, a walk and a RBI in the only game Murray State lost, coming at the hands of Seminole State (OK). In Game 1 of their series against Highland he went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in a 27-7 win. Murray State took Game 2, 9-4. Robertson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs in that one. After walking in a 4-3, Game 3 win, he went 3-for-3 in Game 4. Murray State took the final game 8-1.

Pat Kelley (Regina, Sask.) of Northern Kentucky

Kelley clips Bearcats
It was Pat Kelley’s (Regina, Sask.) first win of the season when as Northern Kentucky beat the Cincinnati Bearcats last week. Kelley got the ball in Game 2 and went seven innings with just four hits allowed. He gave up a run with six strikeouts and a walk.

Graham lowers ERA to 2.05
Phil Graham (St. Chrysostome, Que.) makes his way back into the column thanks to a seven inning complete game win. He scattered seven hits and did not allow a run in Mid America Nazarene’s 3-0 win over Baker University. He struck out seven and walked one as the Pioneers took 3-of-4 from Baker and 4-of-6 on the week. Graham’s ERA now sits at 2.05.

It is always exciting to see new faces each week in the BMOC. The college baseball season continues to heat up, so do not miss any of the big-time performances Canadians are putting up. Check back next week for another edition of the column that highlights Canada’s best college baseball players.

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

BMOC WK IX: Clarke, Esau, Hyland, Jafine, Kirwer, Osborne