May 24, 2019

By Adam Morissette

Baseball Canada

GUERRA/BOCA CHICA, Dominican Republic –-- Facing their 11th and 12th games in the last eight days the Junior National Team made the 45 minute ride to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ historic complex in the Dominican Republic for an early morning contest on Friday before traveling to Boca Chica in the afternoon to face the Dominican Summer League (DSL) Reds in the afternoon.

The morning game was called due to rain after six innings with the clubs locked in a 5-5 tie while the Reds scored three times in the first inning and hung on for a 4-0 win with the game declared official after seven innings due to a significant downpour.

JNT 5, DSL Dodgers 5 (6 Innings)

Antoine Jean (Montréal, Que.) was the story in this firing three scoreless innings and striking out six batters as the Junior National Team and DSL Dodgers played to a 5-5 tie that was called after six innings due to rain.

Down by two runs in the third, TJ Schofield-Sam (Brampton, Ont.) ripped a double to centre field that scored two runs to tie the score before the Dodgers responded with three runs in the home half of the inning to regain the lead.

Just two of the Dodgers’ five runs scored were charged to starting pitcher Simon Lusignan (Varennes, Que.) who worked three innings allowing six hits and walk with two strikeouts.

Eric Martin (Kitchener, Ont.) pulled the juniors to within two when he lined a two-out single to centre in the fifth before a two-run sixth pulled the teams even when Micah McDowell (Coldbrook, N.S.) and Schofield-Sam scored on wild pitches.

DSL Reds 4, JNT 0 (7 Innings)

The DSL Reds scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and eventually came away with a 4-0 win at their complex in Boca Chica.

Trailing 3-0 in the second, Gavin Pringle (Duncan, B.C.) relieved starter Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Newmarket, Ont.) on the mound and proceeded to work four scoreless innings before the Reds scored a run on a two-out RBI single in the sixth.

Pringle allowed five hits and struck out seven over five innings of work.

Offensively, the juniors were limited to just four base runners on one hit coming on an Eric Martin single in the third inning.

UP NEXT

The Junior National Team will be back in action tomorrow with the final contest of the Dominican Summer League tour paying a visit to the Colorado Rockies’ Dominican Complex in Boca Chica with the first pitch set for 10 a.m. E.T.