White, Villeneuve go back-to-back to propel Grey squad to win at JNT camp

ABC alum Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau, Que.) homered and doubled to help lead Canada Grey to a 5-3 win over Canada Red at the Junior National Team training camp on Sunday. Photo: Jacques Lanciault

August 22, 2021

Baseball Canada

AJAX, Ontario – After nearly 18 months of inactivity because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Junior National Team program has resumed in-person baseball activities with a Training Camp at the Ajax Sportsplex, site of the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Thirty-eight athletes are in camp with fourteen inter-squad games scheduled from August 19-September 1 at 1:30PM each day.

Following camp, a roster will be selected from training camp participants to play in a seven-game friendship series against the United States’ 18U squad in Florida.

August 22 – CANADA GREY 5, CANADA RED 3 (BOX SCORE)

Sam White (Aurora, Ont.) and Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau, Que.) hit back-to-back homers to key a three-run sixth inning and lead Canada Grey to a 5-3 win over Canada Red.

The bottom of the sixth began with Louka Daoust (Repentigny, Que.) leading off the frame with a triple to left field before White took the first pitch he saw over the wall in right field. Villeneuve’s blast came on a 2-0 count on a hit that cleared the fence in centre field.

Micah Bucknam (Abbotsford, BC) twirled 4 1/3 innings of solid ball on the mound allowing one run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts while Jérémy Pilon (Valleyfield, Que.) gave up a pair of runs over four innings of work with five strikeouts.

Cameron Chee-Aloy (Toronto, Ont.) continued to be a table setter out of the leadoff spot for Grey with a 3-for-5 day at the plate with one run scored and two stolen bases while Joshua Jones (Blainville, Que.) picked up two hits and walked twice over four trips to the plate.

Boston Warkentin (Delta, B.C.) spun four scoreless innings for Red allowing just two hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts.

At the plate, Red was paced by Jacob Miller (Oshawa, Ont.) who collected two huts including a two-run homer in the ninth while Cameron Gurney (Scotland, Ont.) drove in a run with a single in the first and tripled prior to Miller’s homer in the final frame.