Stalony goes deep, Baker knocks in two to lead Team Royal to win

Ontario Blue Jays outfielder Ryan Stalony, of Team Royal, connects for a 350-foot homer over the left field wall in the fifth inning of his club’s 6-4 victory over Team Navy at the Canadian Futures Showcase at the Rogers Centre on Friday. Photo: Daniel Ramos

September 22, 2023

By Shaelyn Winters

Centennial Sports Journalism

TORONTO – Centre fielder Simon Baker’s two-run single in the fourth inning gave Team Royal the go-ahead run to defeat Team Navy 6-4 in Friday afternoon action at the Canadian Futures Showcase at Rogers Centre.

The base knock by Baker (Cochrane, Alta.) brought in runners Keegan Drinkle (Maple Ridge, B.C.) and Cooper Clark (Thorndale, Ont.).

The outfielder had also shown his skill-level early in the game with an RBI triple.

In discussing the importance of capitalizing on opportunities under pressure, Baker pointed to his desire to impress scouts as motivation.

“Scouts aren’t coming out to watch you walk or anything, so you gotta stay aggressive on those pitches that you can hit,” he said. “Just go out and swing the bat.”

The game marked a rematch between the two teams as Team Navy earned the 7-3 victory on Thursday evening.

Baker pointed to a push for better offence as being a key to this one.

“We knew we didn’t play that good last game; we knew we were better than that,” Baker said. So, we had to come out with a bang, you know, got the offence going a little bit more.”

Starting pitcher Macin MacDonald (Ladner, B.C.) threw 55 pitches in three innings, giving up one hit, three runs (all earned), on two walks and two hit batsmen.

He was replaced by Seth Ainsworth (Sarnia, Ont.), who earned the win. He threw 41 pitches in two innings, with one hit and six strikeouts.

Ryan Stalony (Mississauga, Ont.) hit a two-run, 350-foot wood-bat blast in the fifth inning to give Team Royal a 6-3 lead. Quincy Jenkins (St. Albert, Alta.) also contributed to Team Royal’s success with one run, two walks and two stolen bases.

As for Team Navy, right fielder Quinn Carson (Oakville, Ont.) had two RBIs and Luke Laird (Langley, B.C.) hit a double in the sixth inning to send home Ethan Mota-Dias (Georgetown, Ont.).

Starting pitcher William Labonte (Okotoks, Alta.) threw 61 pitches in three innings, with three hits, two strikeouts and three walks.

He was replaced by Julian Sabourin (Ancaster, Ont.) who threw 41 pitches in two innings, giving up two hits, four earned runs, two walks, and two strikeouts.