Hambley tosses three scoreless innings in Team Navy's tie with Team Maroon

Victoria Mariners right-hander Dominic Hambley (Victoria, B.C.) threw three shutout innings in his first start at the Blue Jays' Tournament 12. Photo: Thomas Williams:

September 20, 2019

By James Sutherland

Canadian Baseball Network

TORONTO - Dominic Hambley didn’t allow the pressure of playing in his first Tournament 12 game affect his performance.

The native of Victoria, B.C., pitched three shutout innings in his first start of the five-day scouting combine, allowing just one hit to put Team Navy up 4-0.

Hambley, 16, wasted no time in commanding the mound.

"I felt pretty good, I was definitely more in control than I thought I was going to be,” he said, post-game. “It was a really good feeling when I could focus in and not allow the outside space to bother me, I was just focusing on me and my catcher.”

Rather than it being a negative, Hambley believed sitting on the bench for Team Navy’s first two games was beneficial.

"Honestly, it helped me calm down,” he said. “Just being in this big stadium, I got to look around, get used to it. I actually think it helped.”

A member of Team B.C.’s bronze medal-winning squad at this summer’s Canada Cup Tournament, Hambley believes that experience helped prepare him to perform in high-pressure situations.

“To be honest I was more nervous at Canada Cup than I was here. I think that tournament really helped me prepare for this.”

After Navy had a four-run buffer heading into the fourth, Team Maroon ended up chipping their way back into the game, finishing in a 5-5 draw to give Hambley the no-decision

Leading the comeback for Maroon was J.J. Dutton, of Toronto (co-Player of the Game, with Hambley), who went 2-for-3, including an RBI in the sixth that tied things up.

"I felt pretty good at the plate today,” said the 16-year-old Dutton. “I choked up to face the hard throwers today and had a good mentality up at the plate."

Nick Gravel of Fall River, N.S., also had a strong showing, going 2-for-4 with one RBI for Maroon (0-1-2), who remain winless after back-to-back draws.

Dutton feels the team has played well despite not finding its first victory.

"We're feeling pretty good,” he said. “We’ve just got to polish up our infield and outfield a bit, and we'll be good.”

Riley Silva, of Cambridge, Ont., went 1-for-3 with two runs to lead the offensive charge for Team Navy (1-1-1).

Both teams will finish up their tournaments later on Friday at Rogers Centre.