Big Men On Campus Week XII
By Matt Betts
Canadian Baseball Network

The Major League Baseball season has started and college ball is heating up. Life is good. Check out below who the best of the best were last week.

Pompey garners conference honour

It was an in-state battle of ranked teams when the No. 21 University of Louisville visited Cliff Hagan Stadium and the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats. Tristan Pompey (Toronto, Ont.) had a hit, a walk and three RBIs in front of a record 4,798 spectators to lead the Wildcats to an 8-5 win. The Gamecocks of South Carolina provided the next test as they visited The Cliff for a three-game Southeastern Conference series. In Game 1 Pompey had three hits, five RBIs and a stolen base in a 14-1 shellacking of the Gamecocks. South Carolina took Game 2 by a 15-1 score and Pompey managed to earn a free pass. In the rubber match Pompey had three hits including a home run to leadoff the bottom of the first. He finished the day with three hits and a pair of RBIs. For his strong week he was named SEC Player of the Week. Pompey was also recently named to the 2018 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list. The Golden Spikes Award is given to the top amateur player in the country. Pompey, who is hitting .358, is one of 40 players on the list.

Quartel is Horizon’s top hitter

Matt Quartel (Sturgeon County, Alta.) earned himself Horizon League Batter of the Week for his efforts in a three-game set for the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. The Panthers took on Northern Kentucky and in Game 1 Quartel went 2-for-3 with his first home run of the year. He also walked and stole a base in the 8-4 win. Northern Kentucky evened the series with an 8-2 win in Game 2. Quartel had a hit, was hit by a pitch and swiped a base in the loss. His best performance came in the finale when he went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs as his team took the game 14-4. His .302 average so far in 2018 is good for third on the team.

Marklund also honoured

Reliever Brandon Marklund (North Vancouver, BC) of Bryan College was awarded with Appalachian Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week honours for his strong performance during the week of March 17th-24th. He appeared in two games and picked up a win, while throwing four scoreless innings against Tennessee Wesleyan. He did not walk a batter and struck out eight, including seven in extra innings to collect the win. Nikitovic is no slouch

North Iowa Area Community College used 10 hits from Daniel Nikitovic (Mississauga, Ont.) to help them to a 5-1 week. Nikitovic hit a pair of home runs and drove in seven. One of the home runs came in a 3-for-4 game with four RBIs against Northeastern Community College, a game NIACC won 13-1.

Bercier bounces back

Tanner Bercier (La Salle, Man.) gave up a run on two walks and didn’t get an out in his first appearance of the week in Game 2 of Frank Phillips series with Odessa. He responded in a big way by throwing 10 innings of relief in Game 3. He allowed one run, two hit and struck out two.

Tovell tosses eight scoreless

Elmhurst scored seven runs in the top of the eighth and Nathan Tovell (Calgary, Alta.) gave them eight scoreless innings to top Millikin University 11-0. Tovell gave up for hits, walked two and struck out nine to pick up his second win.

Trogrlic-Iverson goes seven for win No. 7

It was definitely luck sevens for Nick Trogrlic-Iverson in his start against Pima Community College. Trogrlic-Iverson picked up his seventh win of the season by throwing a complete game, seven innings. He allowed three hits, a run, walked three and punched out eight in the 4-1 win.

UBC splits with No.4 Lewis-Clark State

The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds won Games 1 and 4 to split their series with No. 4 Lewis-Clark State. Niall Windeler (Toronto, Ont.) got things going for the Thunderbirds by going 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and three runs (two earned). He walked four and struck out five to get things off to a good start.

Braeden Allemann (Surrey, BC) picked up the save in Game 1 win with 2/3 of an inning on the bump. He surrendered a hit and struck out one. After the Thunderbirds dropped Games 2 and 3 he was given the start in the final game of the series. He worked five innings of one run baseball to help the Thunderbirds to a 2-1 win. He allowed just two hits and struck out nine to even the series.

Anthony Cusati (Burnaby BC) was a catalyst for the offence. In Game 1 he had two hits and two RBIs. He followed that up with a hit and a walk in the 14-2 Game 2 loss. He had another hit and a walk in the Game 3 loss, that one was by a 16-4 score. His two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth of Game 4 provided the winning runs. He finished with 2 hits in the game.

Freure firing for Panthers

RJ Freure (Burlington, Ont.) made two appearances for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. His first came in a 9-5 win over Youngstown State. He went two scoreless innings and gave up two hits, walked one and struck out five of the six outs he recorded. Freure was back in action in Game 2 of the Panthers series with Boston College. In the 6-4, 13 inning win, he went 4 1/3 innings, giving up a hit and two runs. The former Ontario Blue Jay and Junior National Team member walked three and struck out four in the win.

Hooge with hot start

It’s hard to top starting your week with four hits. Jaxson Hooge (Calgary, Alta.) went 4-for-6 with a two-run home run and five RBIs to lead Tabor College to a 18-8 win in the opener of their three-game series with Sterling. Hooge had a hit and a RBI in Game 2 and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in Game 3. The Bluejays swept the three games from Sterling.

Robb loses then wins

Devon Robb (Kingston, Ont.) got the start for Notre Dame College in their game against Walsh. He lasted three innings, giving up a hit, a and a walk. He struck out two but was handed the loss in the 11-5 decision. Robb got in again in Game 1 of a series with West Liberty University, this time picking up the win. He tossed two scoreless innings, allowing a hit, a walk and striking out two.

Jafine tosses gem

Adam Jafine (Toronto, Ont.) was perfectly fine doing it himself. The lefty threw a complete game, seven inning shutout to help the University of Charleston to an 11-0 win over West Virginia Wesleyan in Game 1 of their series. He scattered a pair of hits and walks, while striking out six. 

Six hits for Humeniuk

Indian Hills Community College dropped a pair to Iowa Western before sweeping Southwestern in a four-game series. Ryan Humeniuk (Stonewall, Man.) had six hits, including a home run and drove in six on the week. He walked three times and stole a base for Indian Hills. His best game was a 4-for-4 performance with two RBIs in Game 1 against Southwestern.

Schnarr solid despite lacklustre defence

Five errors did in the Frontier Community College Bobcats in a 7-4 loss to Lincoln Trail. Brady Schnarr (Waterloo, Ont.) threw five innings, giving up seven hits and three runs (one earned) with two walks. He struck out eight in the outing.

Fernandez-Beltran throws complete game

Fernando Fernandez-Beltran (Mercier, Que.) picked up the win for the St. Mary’s Rattlers over Lubbock Christian. He pitched all seven innings, surrendering just three hits and a run. He walked one and struck out two in the 3-1 victory. Fernandez-Beltran owns a 5-3 record with a 2.45 ERA over 62 1/3 innings for the 24-10 Rattlers.

Julien continues solid freshman campaign

It was a tough week in SEC action for the Auburn Tigers but Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.) continued to swing a hit bat. The Tigers picked up a 19-5 win over Alabama A&M behind a 3-for-3 games with a walk, three RBIs and five runs scored from Julien. Auburn as then swept by the No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks. In Game 1 Julien hit a home run that supplied the Tigers only run in a 2-1 loss. He had another hit in Game 2, a 13-2 defeat. Julien was moved to the lead-off spot in Game 3 and roped a double, drove in two runs and stole a base in a 5-4 loss. The freshman has seven home runs on the year.

Howie a handful

Nick Howie (Oakville, Ont.) went 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in a 22-14 loss to Xavier. They responded by sweep a three-game series for Southern-Illinois Edwardsville. In Game 1 Howie went 2-for-3 with a walk, followed by a 2-for-4 game with three RBIs in Game 2. He chipped in a hit, a walk and drove in a run to help complete the sweep. Howie was coming off being named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week by both OVC Sports and College Sports Madness. He is hitting .293 in 2018 with five home runs, 27 RBIs. He has played in 31 games, starting 29.

Webb with eight hits

Evan Webb (Whitby, Ont.) had eight hits last week for Concord University. He went 2-for-4  with a two-run shot and a RBI in a 13-5 Game 2 win over West Virginia State. He launched another home run en route to a 3-for-4 game with four RBIs in a 12-4 Game 4 win.

Bondarchuk and Sabrowski do it with the stick

Matt Bondarchuk went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a RBI in a 12-2 win over MCC-Longview in the final game of Cloud County’s week. In the three games before that he had four hits, a walk, a RBI and a stolen base.

Known for both striking people out and being a pain to deal in the box, Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) was doing the latter for Cloud County Community College this past week. He had six hits, a walk and seven RBIs for the T-Birds in their four games. It would have been six games but Games 3 and 4 of their series against MCC-Longview were cancelled.

Procopio reels of multi-hit games

Christopher Procopio (Toronto, Ont.) had two hits in each Games 2, 3 and 4 of Highland Community College’s series with Cowley County. He also chipped in a hit in Game 1 and drove in five runs.

Roy hits in all six games

Not a game went by without Ashton Roy (Sudbury, Ont.) contributing a hit. He had 10 hits in Pratt Community College’s six games leading them to a 4-2 record. He had two hits in four of the six games.

Keys good for Grand Valley

Travis Keys (London, Ont.) worked five innings and gave up a run on four hits to help guide Grand Valley State University to a 2-1 win in Game 3 of their series with Davenport. He walked and struck out five during his outing.

Brettell beats Golden Flashes

The Chippewas of Central Michigan only won one of three in their series with Kent State and it was Michael Brettell (Fonthill, Ont.) on the mound in the victory. Brettell lasted 7 2/3 innings and allowed just one run on five hits and a walk. He struck out eight and his ERA stands at 4.03.

Lloyd with the long relief

Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta.) didn’t allow a run over five innings of relief as the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers downed Purdue 7-5 in Game 3 of their series. He gave up two hits and struck out five in front of 2265 people.

Bourassa takes the loss

Five unearned runs hurt Landen Bourassa (Lethbridge, Alta.) and the University of San Francisco Dons in a 5-4 loss to St. Mary’s. He tossed 5 2/3 innings, scattering eight hit, five runs (one earned), two walks, while struck out five.

Hill hits, walks twice

Jason Hill (Surrey, BC) had a hit for McCook Community College in their 19-7 loss to Garden City. Against the Hastings College JV’s he went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and a walk. The next game was also against the JV’s of Hastings and Hill again went 2-for-3 with a walk. McCook won the first meeting and dropped the second.

Krzeminski with five hits

Iowa Western Reiver Gibson Krzeminski (Tecumseh, Ont.) had five hits and walked twice in six games. He showed off his wheels with a pair of doubles and a triple.

Bedard, Gauthier, Langlois back Trinidad State

Alex Bedard (Lavis, Que.) had seven hits for Trinidad State as they won all four games and ran their winning streak to eight. He drove in seven runs, walked once and stole two bases.

David Gauthier (Mont Sainte-Hilaire, Que.) picked up his fifth win of the season in a 7-5 win over Lamar. He went five innings, giving up six hits, three runs (one earned) with three walks and six strikeouts.

Xavier Langlois (Varennes, Que.) had a hit and two walks in the win over Lamar. He had two hits and stole a base in a 12-6 Game 1 win over Western Nebraska. In Game 2, an 8-5 win, he went 2-for-3 with a RBI. The Trojans completed the sweep in Game 3 with a 10-4 victory. Trinidad State is an impressive 33-6 on the year.

Northeastern State wins twice

Northeastern State University went 2-2 on the week behind a .416 average from Zane Takhar (Victoria, BC). Takhar went 5-for-12 with two walks and a .916 OPS.

Southern Idaho drops 3-of-4

It was an uncharacteristic week for the College of Southern Idaho Eagles as they dropped 3-of-4 to Salt Lake Community College. In Game 1, an 8-3 loss, Brett Resch (Saskatoon, Sask.) went 2-for-3. Resch had another two hits in Game 2 and drove in a pair in their only win. After driving in a run in a Game 3 loss he went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and two RBIs in Game 4 but it wasn’t enough as they dropped the contest 11-4. Despite the three losses Southern Idaho’s record still stands at an impressive 30-8.

Chester hands Golden Eagles a loss

Fynn Chester (Victoria, BC) delivered Salt Lake Community College a victory in Game 3 of their series with the College of Southern Idaho. He threw 6 1/3 innings and gave up five runs (two earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out three to lead his team to victory.

Berg having strong 2018

It has been a solid season for Danny Berg (Saskatoon, Sask.) as he has a .316 average with a .428 on-base percentage and a .456 slugging percentage for the Polk State Eagles. He had seven hits in three games for the Eagles last week including a 4-for-4 games with two doubles, a walk and a RBI in a loss to the Florida Southern JV’s.

Wilson powers Davenport offence

Zac Wilson (New Lowell, Ont.) had a pair of three-hit games as Davenport University went 3-2. His first three-hit game came in against Cleary when he hit a double and a home run. He was hit by a pitch, drove in two runs, scored four times and stole a pair of bases. He again had three hits in a 6-3 Game 2 win over Grand Valley State. One of the hits in the triumph was a triple.

Crowder continues winning ways

Crowder Community College now sits with a 30-9 record after going 3-1 las week. Tyler Duncan (Sooke, BC) went 4-for-5 with two RBIs in an 11-6 win over Neosho County to get things off on the right foot. He continued to roll in Game 1 versus Three Rivers with two hits and a RBI. He had a walk in Game 3 and a triple in Game 4, the only game they lost.

New team, no problem

The scenery may be different for Tristan Clarke (Brampton, Ont.) as he goes from the University of New Orleans to Tennessee Wesleyan but his production is still impressive. He had eight hits in four games including a 4-for-5 game with two, two-run home runs in a 16-6 win over Bluefield College.

Reyes-Cruz, Clarendon cruise to five win

Tommy Reyes-Cruz (Montreal, Que.) wasn’t messing around going 4-for-5 for Clarendon College to open the week. He had three hits, a RBI and two walks in the following four games as Clarendon went 5-0.

Victoria Eagles grad, RHP Jacob Potter (Victoria, BC) pitched Allen County to victory striking out eight.

Potter with complete game win

Jacob Potter (Victoria, BC) struck out eight and gave up just one run in a complete game, seven inning win over Johnson County Community College. He allowed six hits and walked two in Allen County’s only with of the series.

Rempel ramps it up for Colorado Mesa

Junior Tanner Rempel (Abbotsford, BC) had a hit, a walk and a RBI for 7th-ranked Colorado Mesa in a 7-6 win over Colorado Christian. His big game came in a 19-5 win over that same Colorado Christian team. He went 4-for-5 with a three-run home run, five RBIs and a stolen base. In a 13-10 loss to Colorado School of Mines he had two hits and RBI. Colorado School of Mines downed the Mavericks again by a 12-6 score in the next game and Rempel had a hit in the loss. He finished the weekend 8-for-19 (.421), with seven RBIs. Colorado Mesa is 23-10. 

Sanderson plays well in shortened week

Four of Maine-Presques Isle’s games were cancelled last week but they were still able to play four. Ryan Sanderson’s (Cow Bay, NS) best came in a 6-2 loss to Husson when he went 4-for-4. He had six hits in the four games that were played.

New Mexico, New Mexico Military square off

It was a battle of New Mexico junior colleges as Ryan Rijo (Barrie, Ont.) and New Mexico junior college took on New Mexico Military Institute. Game 1 was Military Appreciation Day and Rijo had a hit in his team’s win. In Game 2 he hit a home run, a double and walked in a 9-6 win. He had another home run in a 2-0 Game 3 win and New Mexico completed the sweep in Game 4. Rijo has hit 13 home runs so far in 2018.

Arruda doesn’t allow a run

Nathan Arruda (Toronto, Ont.) went six scoreless innings for Tabor College in Game 2 of their series with Sterling. He allowed four hits and four walked in the 5-0 win. Arruda punched out five Sterling hitters in the win.

Williams with 12 more hits

The opposition can’t look forward to Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.). Williams pounded out 12 more hits last week for Johnson County Community College, including two home runs. He drove in 11 runs in five games to power the offence.

Mailloux starts the sweep

A 4-1 win for Northwestern Ohio kickstarted their sweep of Cornerstone University. Olivier Mailloux (Ville de Quebec, Que.) took the ball and went seven innings and gave up an unearned win in the 4-1 win. He allowed five hits and struck out five for the Racers.

Oulton goes the distance for Owls

Taran Oulton (St. Albert, Alta.) gave up an unearned run over seven innings in a 5-1 William Woods win. He worked around four hits and a walk to continue his strong season. He struck out four opposing in his complete game effort.

Rousseau reaches six times

JP Rousseau (Montreal, Que.) had five hits and was hit by a pitch for Mid America Nazarene. He went 3-for-4 with a RBI in an 11-4 win over Benedictine.
 

MacDonald produces offence despite sweep

The Arkansas State Red Wolves were swept in a three-game set by Georgia State but Kyle MacDonald (Mississauga, Ont.) had five hits. MacDonald also drove in six runs but it couldn’t spark the Red Wolves to victory.

Canisius sweeps MAAC series

The Canisius Golden Griffins lost a tough 6-5, 10 inning games to Cornell but bounced back to sweep three games from Saint Peter’s. J.P. Stevenson (New Glasgow, PEI) improved his record to 5-0 with a strong start in Game 2 of their series with Saint Peter’s. He allowed an unearned run over six innings in the 5-1 decision. He gave up two hits and struck out 11 Peacocks.

In the loss to Cornell Liam Wilson (Ayr, Ont.) had a hit for the Griffs. In Game 1 against Saint Peter’s he had two hits and a RBI. Wilson had a double, a triple, a walk and a RBI in Game 2. To close out the week he had another double and triple in Game 3, while also walking and driving in two runs. Canisius is 17-10 on the year and 6-3 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.

Hildebrandt collects hits for Cuyahoga

Matt Hildebrandt (Bownmanville, Ont.) and Cuyahoga Community College had a busy week. They had six games and Hildebrandt had six hits, four walks, seven RBIs and two stolen bases.

Latimer leads by example in the box

It has been a long season for Trinity International University as they have yet to win. Matt Latimer (Georgtown, Ont.) has been trying to do his part in the batter’s box to deliver a win. He went 3-for-5 in a 15-5 Game 1 loss to Trinity Christian College. The following game he went 2-for-3 with a stolen base. In Game 3 he had two hits and a RBI but his team fell to 0-30.

Warkentin shows off power

Matt Warkentin (Leamington, Ont.) exploded for a 5-for-6 games with a solo home run as Xavier downed Eastern Kentucky 22-14. He drove in three, scored five runs and stole a base in the high scoring contest. Xavier then opened their series against Georgetown with a 6-2 win behind a 3-for-5 game with a RBI from Warkentin. They lost Game 2, 2-1 in 10 innings. They then won Game 3, 5-4 in 11 innings and Warkentin went 3-for-4 with a walk and RBI.

Vasquez goes six in relief

The Northwestern State starter went eight innings and Jose Vasquez (Cambridge, Ont.) went six innings in a 6-5, 15 inning loss to Stephen F. Austin. Vasquez gave up a run on six hits with two strikeouts.

Stubbins throw seven innings in loss

Kyle Stubbins (Surrey, BC) gave up two runs over seven innings and Douglas College gave up three total but that was enough for Everett to walk away with a 3-2 win. Stubbins gave up six hits, walked one and struck out 10.

Follett locked in for Roadrunners

The College of the Desert Roadrunners took 2-of-3 from San Bernardino Valley and Nick Follett (Toronto, Ont.) got it off to a great start with a solo home run in the top of the first in Game 1. He had three hits in the opener of the series and drove in three in the 11-4 win. In a Game 2 loss he had two hits and walked twice. The Roadrunners won the series with a 15-9 victory in Game 3. Follett hit a two-run home run and walked twice in the finale.

Player of the Week, Pitchers of the Week and much more highlights will be provided by the BMOC. The college ball season continues with good performances from Canadians. Each week we wrap the best games by the players who are from north of the border.

If you know someone deserving of a mention in the BMOC please email Matt Betts at mattbetts41@gmail.com. Please note our week runs Monday-Sunday.