U18 World Qualifier: Valero, Buckle, Clarke, O'Halloran lead juniors by Bahamas
Photo Credit: Baseball Canada
November 26, 2018
By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
CHITRÉ, Panama – After scoring six runs in the first inning, the Canadian Junior National Team did not look back en route to a 17-3 defeat of the Bahamas at the COPABE U18 Pan Am Championships. The game lasted just seven innings due to the mercy rule.
With the win, Canada improves to 3-0 to hold down first place in the Group B standings with a match-up against Cuba tomorrow to close out the opening round.
After scoring six runs in the first inning with just one hit, Cesar Valero (Calgary, Alta.) drove in two runs and scored a run in the second to make it 9-0 before Canada scored four more times in the fourth.
A triple off the bat of Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) scored Blake Buckle (Milton, Ont.) from first before Owen Diodati’s double later in the frame cleared the bases to put Canada up by ten.
Up 13-3 in the sixth, Canada used RBI doubles from Buckle and Clarke, and added four runs to their tally to close out the scoring.
Bahamas did all of their scoring in the third when starting pitcher Connor Sparks (Saskatoon, SK) ran into control issues hitting a batter and walking a pair with the bases loaded to bring in three runs.
Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) relieved Sparks in the third and went on to toss four and a third scoreless innings to record the win.
UP NEXT: Team Canada will close out opening round play tomorrow against Cuba at Rico Cedeño Stadium in Chitré with the first pitch set for 6 p.m. E.T.