September 23, 2022

By Ella Milloy

Carleton University

OTTAWA – Team Red catcher Jason Green (Georgetown, Ont.) hit the first home run of the Canadian Futures Showcase during the sixth inning against Team Royal on Friday at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park.

Green’s homer was a three-run shot to right field that cashed in teammates Noah Konings (Brampton, Ont.) and Ty Doucette (Dartmouth, N.S.).

Team Red won the game 18-5.

Green replaced catcher Deiten Lachance (Sherbrooke, Que.) during a defensive substitution in the fifth inning.

“I sat the first half of the game so I knew I needed to do something,” Green said. “I was probably only going to get one at-bat, so that first pitch I was looking fast for the ball . . . and hammered it.”

Owen Fernandes (Maple Ridge, B.C.) was the starting pitcher for Team Red and he struck out Jorge Valdes (Milton, Ont.) to start the game. Two fly outs from Sam Shaw (Victoria, B.C.) and Tyson Vassart (Lasalle, Man.) followed.

Team Royal displayed strong defence in the first inning. Right fielder Landon Kauffman (Vancouver, B.C.) and left fielder Abraham Contreras (Blainville, Que.) caught fly outs. However, Team Red’s Konings, who had reached on his first of five hits in the game, advanced to third base. Konings then scored on a fielding error by shortstop Sam Shaw (Victoria, B.C.) to give Team Red a 1-0 lead.

Back at-bat, Team Royal continued to struggle against Fernandes. Standing 6-foot-4, Fernandes’s struck out the side in the second inning. He continued to dominate in the third inning, striking out Kenny Scott (Ladner, B.C.) and Jesse Dale (Toronto, Ont.). In three innings, Fernandes threw 30 pitches and finished with a pitching line of 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.

In the top of the third inning, Luca Alagheband (Toronto, Ont.) replaced Marsh in the first of Team Royal’s pitching substitutions. Team Red’s Lucas Alberti (Toronto, Ont.) proceeded to hit a triple to centre field. Konings followed with a double and an RBI, increasing Team Red’s lead to 2-0.

A wild pitch from Alagheband allowed Konings to sprint home, increasing the score to 3-0.

The bases were loaded for Team Red for much of the third inning. Kyle Yip (Calgary, Alta.) singled to drive in BJ Peart (Markham, Ont.). Alagheband then walked Robert Orr (Vancouver, B.C.) and Doucette scored his first run of the game. Team Red finished the third inning with a 5-0 lead.

Eric Machej (Edmonton, Alta.) replaced Fernandes on the mound for Team Red in the top of the fourth. DesRochers opened the inning with a triple, just barely beating right fielder Yip’s throw to third base.

Machej then walked Valdes and Shaw, which allowed DesRochers to cross the plate and get Team Royal on the scoreboard.

After a mound visit, Machej regrouped and struck out Vassart and Alex Kean (Woodstock, Ont.).

Cam Gravelle (Smithville, Ont.) hit a triple for Team Red in the fourth, followed by another triple from Alberti, his second of the game, on a line drive to left field. Gravelle would later score.

Konings hit a double and earned himself another RBI when he cashed in Alberti. Konings scored after a Peart ground out, increasing Team Red’s lead to 8-1.

The momentum of the game shifted again in the fifth inning as Justin Anctil (Mirabel, Que.) and Jesse Dale (Toronto, Ont.) scored for Team Royal after a series of singles.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, however, Team Red’s offence took over. Orr, Dylan Chopp (Calgary, Alta.), and Gravelle hit consecutive singles and Orr scored to make it 9-3.

Alberti earned himself another RBI with a double on a fly ball to left. Chopp scored off Alberti’s double, increasing the lead to 10-3. Gravelle was inches away from a run but was out at the plate on a throw by Shaw to catcher Sam Byers (Ottawa, Ont.).

Following Green’s homer in the sixth, Yip and Orr scored another two runs for Team Red. Team Royal did not score again until the seventh inning, where Byers and DesRochers increased the team’s score to 15-5.

But Team Red would add three more runs in the bottom of the seventh, with Gravelle, Bono and Konings scoring to secure an 18-5 win.

Green reflected on how the team has bonded over the four days at the showcase, saying the way the team worked together helped them win their last game.

“I think everyone here on the team is awesome,” Green said. “We have a really good team. Our chemistry is insane. We’ve enjoyed helping each other out and pushing each other all week, so that’s been a really good thing.”

It was the last game at the tournament for both Team Red and Team Royal.

Prospects game rosters and home run derby participants will be announced following the conclusion of Day 4.