Elliott: FieldHouse trio impresses on Memorial Day

The three Field House Pirates who celebrated Memorial Day in Fort Myers, from left, C Cameron Gurney (Scotland, Ont.), RHP Will Watson (Brampton, Ont.) and RHP Owen Millar (Burlington, Ont.).

May 31, 2021

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Owen Millar was dominant pitching for Neb National at the Perfect Game 18U East Memorial Day Classic in Fort Myers.

RHP Millar (Burlington, Ont.) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings as North East Baseball beat FGCP 18U Black 4-1 in the opener. He struck out four and walked four, while not allowing a base hit.

Owen Millar

Millar, of the FieldHouse Pirates worked consistently in the 89-92 mph range. He threw 58 pitches (48% strikes).

Will Watson (Brampton, Ont.) started for Neb working 1 2/3 innings allowing one run on one hit and six walks. Watson, another FieldHouse Pirate threw 60 pitches (40% strikes) and struck out three. He was clocked in the 85-93 MPH range.

The third FieldHouse player C Cameron Gurney (Scotland, Ont.) was hitless in two at-bats.

Gurney wasn’t hitless in the next game, hitting a two-run inside-the-park homer as Neb National of Hudson, Mass. beat the Dade Diamond Prospects 11-1. He took Sergio Sanchez’s 73 MPH fastball out of Cypress Lake High School and also singled.

Then, Neb National hammered SF Storm 18U 10-0 as Gurney tripled.

Cam Gurney

Gurney, who has a scholarship to Arizona State, was hitless in a 1-0 loss to the Bombers as Neb finished pool play with a 3-1 record.

And in the quarter finals, Gurney was hitless in a 3-2 win over the GT Clowns National.

The Florida Rebels eliminated Neb National 8-0 in the semi-final, a game in which none of the Canucks played. Had Neb won, Millar would have started the final.

Gurney hit .250 (3-for-12) with a triple, homer and two RBIs. Both Watson and Gurney are eligible for the 2021 draft, while Millar is a 2022 draft.

Will Watson

Pool D

Team PCT W-L-T RA RS

Gametime Prospects 1.000 4 0 0 10 38

Neb National .750 3 1 0 3 25

SF Storm 18U .500 2 2 0 21 10

FGCP 18U Black .500 2 2 0 11 17

Blue Bombers .500 2 2 0 14 10

Elite Performance 18u .250 1 3 0 16 9

Dade Diamond Prospects .000 0 4 0 39 5

By Vincent Cervino and Tyler Russo

Perfect Game

Owen Millar (2022, Burlington, On.) is one of a few Canadian prospects here at the event and the stuff he brought to the mound in a relief look on night one was excellent. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound right-hander is undoubtedly physical and it’s a well-proportioned build with strength in his lower half that keeps him balanced and allows him to work hard down the mound. He worked mostly in the 89-92 mph range, showing heaviness to the fastball which generated some swing-and-miss and mostly weak contact when put in play. The slider was the more shown secondary pitch as he throws it firm and gets short, late bite on it proving effective when landed, but he’s also known for having a quality changeup which gives a good mix that can get outs at a high level when the command is there.

Owen Millar out of Canada showing excellent stuff out of the ‘pen. Working mostly at 89-92, missing bats with the fastball and throwing a slider with hard late bite around 80/81. #EastMMDay

Cameron Gurney (2022, Scotland, Ont.) showed his carrying tool which is prodigious power to all fields. Both of his extra-base hits were to the opposite field and hit very deep into left-centre. The Arizona State commit showed a tool that he wasn’t necessarily known for coming into the event which is his above average speed when under way. He hit balls in the gaps that didn’t seem like they’d be more than doubles and he was able to stretch them into a triple and an inside the parker. He’s also shown excellent catch-and-throw skills throughout the weekend from behind the dish, with the arm strength to be an impact defender.