Altona Bisons alum Ethan Giesbrecht (Altona, Man.) hurled five scoreless innings to pick up the win in his start for Hutchinson Community College last week. Photo: Twitter

March 12, 2024

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

Right-handed pitcher Sean Heppner (Point Roberts, Wash.) had what we determined to be the best week of any Canadian in college baseball but there were plenty of contenders.

Have a look for yourself and you be the judge.

Geisbrecht pitches, Pimentel-Guerrero hits for Hutchinson

Hutchinson Community College continued to get production out of their Canadians during a four-game series sweep of Garden City.

Ethan Giesbrecht (Altona, Man.) picked up the win in Game 1 with five scoreless innings of work. He allowed one hit and struck out seven in a convincing 10-0 victory.

Luis Pimentel-Guerrero (Burlington, Ont.) backed his started by going 3-for-4 with a solo home run and four RBIs in the opener. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs in a 6-1 Game 2 win and followed it up with another hit and RBI in Game 3. In the finale, he worked a walk.

Finkelstein frustrates opposing hitters

Jake Finkelstein (Richmond, BC), of the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets, took the phrase “pitching to contact” quite literally in his start against Saint Martin’s University. He threw eight innings and gave up two runs on five hits with a pair of walks in a 7-3 win. None of the 24 outs he recorded came via the strikeout.

Gurney goes deep three times

It’s fair to say Austin Gurney (Campbell River, BC) was seeing the ball well in the University of Pikeville’s series with Kentucky Christian. Gurney got going in Game 1 with a solo home run. He carried the power stroke into Game 2, hitting a three-run home run and a two-run home run. To round out his weekend in Game 3, he walked, drove in a run and was hit by a pitch. The Bears swept the series thanks in large part to Gurney’s bat.

Thompson pitches well in Thomas College loss

Wyatt Thompson (Orillia, Ont.) tossed six innings and surrendered four runs (one earned) on four hits in Thomas College’s 11-5 defeat at the hands of Russell Sage. Thompson walked a pair and punched out four.

Okotoks Dawgs alum Nash Crowell (Yarmouth, NS) had nine hits and seven RBIs in four games for the Reinhardt Eagles last week. Photo: Reinhardt Athletics

Crowell adds to home run total

Former Okotoks Dawgs standout Nash Crowell (Yarmouth, NS) is putting together quite the junior season at Reinhardt University. He added nine hits, three walks, seven RBIs and a stolen base to his season totals in four games for the Eagles. To begin the week, he went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and three RBIs in a 19-4 midweek win over Saint Francis. Fast forward to Friday and he had a pair of three-hit games in a doubleheader sweep of Milligan. During the first game, he put together a 3-for-5 performance at the plate with a solo home run. In the back half, he went 3-for-3 with a solo home run, a two-run home run and a walk. For his efforts, he was named AAC Player of the Week.

Soucie stymies Southwestern Illinois

University of South Carolina commit Jackson Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) showed why the Gamecocks should be excited about getting him on campus. The southpaw spun eight scoreless innings in Wabash Valley’s 10-0 win over Southwestern Illinois. He yielded two hits, walked two and fanned nine.

Leduc shuts down Shawnee

Zac Leduc (Blainville, Que.) conceded one run on four hits in six innings of work as Frontier Community College downed Shawnee 11-1. Leduc walked one and struck out five.

Ballantyne beats Salem

Right-hander Hunter Ballantyne (Brantford, Ont.) improved to 2-0 on the season by throwing 5 2/3 innings to help Bay College beat Salem 11-1. He gave up an unearned run on a hit, walked one and struck out nine.

McCabe mashes like his brother

Atlanta Braves’ No. 12 prospect David McCabe isn’t the only one in the family who can hit. Brother Nathan McCabe (Oshawa, Ont.) is currently mashing at Union College. He collected six hits and seven RBIs in four games this past week, which included a three-run home run in a 10-7 Game 2 win over Bryan and a solo shot and three-run homer in a 9-7 Game 3 victory.

Fieldhouse Pirates grad Francesco Barbieri (Brampton, Ont.) belted three home runs last week for Ave Maria. Photo: Ave Maria Athletics

Barbieri blasts three home runs

The power put on display by Canadian college players this season has been something to witness. Francesco Barbieri (Brampton, Ont.) added to his home run total with three in four games for Ave Maria. The first was a solo home run in a 6-2 Game 1 win over New College of Florida. He then hit a two-run shot in a 4-0 Game 2 win and concluded the series with another solo homer in a 6-2 Game 3 victory. When the week was over, he had chipped in six hits, three walks, four RBIs, was hit by a pitch and stole a base.

Robertson throws complete game shutout

A frequent flyer in this column, right-hander Mac Robertson (Oshawa, Ont.) was his usual self for Arizona Western in their 10-0 win over Scottsdale. Robertson took the fight out of the Fighting Artichokes by throwing a complete-game seven inning shutout. He allowed three hits, issued two walks and struck out four.

Young wins opener for Everett

Callum Young (Vancouver, BC) got the ball in Everett Community College’s series opener against Grays Harbor and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits over six innings to lead his team to a 6-2 win. He walked two and struck out five.

Leishman provides sweet relief

Summoned from the bullpen in the sixth inning, Marshall Leishman (Huntsville, Ont.) would go on to throw 5 2/3 scoreless innings as Ashland defeated No. 22 Grand Valley State 5-3 in 11 innings. Leishman gave up five hits, walked two and struck out five.

Jean moves record over .500

Lefty Antoine Jean (Montreal, Que.) struck out 11 in 5 1/3 innings to help Houston blank Baylor 8-0 in Game 2 of their series. He surrendered five hits and walked two.

Ontario Blue Jays alum Ryan Pelton (Caledon, Ont.) had six hits and seven RBIs in three games for the SUNY Poly Wildcats. Photo: Twitter

Pelton belts home run

SUNY Poly put up 44 runs in three wins and Ryan Pelton (Caledon, Ont.) was a driver of the offence with six hits and seven RBIs. Pelton went 3-for-3 with a two-run home run, two doubles and four RBIs in a 22-0 thumping of Bryant & Stratton (Syracuse).

Caya comes up with three-hit game

Tommy Caya (Gatineau, Que.) made the most of his time in the lineup for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M as he went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in a 9-3 Game 3 win over Seminole State (OK), his team’s only win of the three-game series.

McGarry-Doyle has six hits

Six hits over three games for Mid-America Christian earns Noel McGarry-Doyle (Vaughan, Ont.) a spot in this column. He added three RBIs and hit a two-run home run in an 8-3 win over Oklahoma City.

Dick hits in four games for Griffs

Carlin Dick (Abbotsford, BC) played in all four games for Canisius College and finished with six hits, five walks, three RBIs and a stolen base. He hit solo home runs in Games 2 and 3 of the Golden Griffins series with George Washington, which they would win 2-1.

Millas shuts down San Diego State

For the second straight week, Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC) was impressive for the University of Nevada. Millas surrendered one run on six hits over five innings to pick up his first win in an 8-2 Game 2 victory over San Diego State. He walked two and struck out six in the outing.

Tecumseh Thunder grad Caden Gomes (Harrow, Ont.) had 10 hits for Notre Dame College last week. Photo: Notre Dame College Athletics

Gomes hot like the Florida weather

Notre Dame College headed south to Florida for five games and Caden Gomes (Harrow, Ont.) played well. Gomes closed the week with 10 hits, two walks and a RBI. He saved his best for last, going 4-for-4 with a walk and RBI in a 7-3 win over No. 22 Grand Valley State.

Iantomasi, LaChance step up for Jefferson

A pair of Canadians at Jefferson College had good series against Metropolitan.

Cole Iantomasi (Toronto, Ont.) collected five hits, walked six times and amassed five RBIs.

Greg LaChance (Whitby, Ont.) stole five bases to go along with six hits, two walks, and three RBIs. LaChance has 12 steals in 14 games.

Crowson an ideal leadoff hitter

Connor Crowson (Okotoks, Alta.) did everything a leadoff hitter should last week for the University of Montevallo. Crowson contributed eight hits, walked three times, drove in four, was hit by a pitch and stole three bases in four games. He went 4-for-5 with a two-run home run and two stolen bases in a 10-8 Game 1 win over West Georgia.

Lachance laces 10 hits

As the week went on, Deiten Lachance (Sherbrooke, Que.) got better for McLennan College. He started with a hit and a walk to open the week and followed it with a hit and an RBI in the second game. Then he really started to take off, going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs in a 7-1 Game 2 victory over Vernon. In Game’s 3 and 4 he combined to go 5-for-9 with another home run, two doubles and four RBIs.

Luchies leads Lower Columbia on the mound

Owen Luchies (Victoria, BC) spun five scoreless innings for Lower Columbia in a 10-8 Game 3 win over Shoreline. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out four.

Victoria Eagles alum Connor Irvine (Victoria, BC) earned a complete game win in his start for the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Photo: University of Arkansas at Monticello Athletics

Irvine tosses complete game

The Weevils of Arkansas at Monticello received a complete game from Connor Irvine (Victoria, BC) in a 13-2 Game 1 win against Harding. Irvine yielded two runs on five hits, walked three and struck out six.

Make it 4-0 for Boudreau

Tyler Boudreau (Middle Sackville, NS) threw seven innings and conceded two runs on five hits for Midland College as they downed Odessa 5-2 in Game 1 of their series. He walked one and struck out 10 to move his record to 4-0 on the season.

UBC sweeps, Heppner makes conference history

The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds clearly put their four-game sweep at the hands of No. 3 Lewis-Clark State behind them as they turned around and swept four games from the College of Idaho.

Right-hander Sean Heppner (Point Roberts, Wash.) got the ball in Game 1 and punched out 16 over 6 1/3 innings of work in an 11-5 win. He allowed a run on a hit and a walk. The 16 strikeouts sets a Cascade Collegiate Conference single-game record.

Ryan Beitel (Surrey, BC) followed with six scoreless innings in Game 2. He surrendered three hits, walked two and struck out three in an 11-1 win.

The strong starts continued in Game 3, this time from Sean’s brother, Ryan Heppner (Point Roberts, Wash.). He gave up one run on three hits in six innings to lead his team to a 7-2 victory. The righty walked two and struck out four.

Daniel Orfaly (White Rock, BC) made it four quality starts in a row by throwing five scoreless innings in a 7-3 Game 4 victory. Orfaly allowed two hits, a walk and struck out one

Those starts were backed by an explosive offence.

Trent Lenihan (White Rock, BC) had six hits, walked once, drove in five and was hit by three pitches. He hit a three-run home run in Game 1.

Johnny McGill (Richmond, BC) chipped in seven hits, a walk, five RBIs and a hit by pitch.

A two-run home run by Mitchell Middlemiss (Chilliwack, BC) in Game 1 was followed by a nine-hit, four-RBI series. He also stole a base.

Russell Young (Surrey, BC) got in on the action with five hits, a walk and three RBIs. Like Lenihan and Middlemiss, he homered in Game 1, a solo shot.

The Canadian stars of tomorrow are on full display every week across college baseball.

Keep up-to-date with all the highlights right here in the BMOC.

Do you know of a player deserving of a mention in the weekly BMOC column? Email Matt Betts at mattbetts@canadianbaseballnetwork.com. Please note that our week runs Monday-Sunday.

Be sure to follow Matt Betts at @Bettsy41 for extensive Canadian baseball coverage all season long.

BMOC Week VII: Barbieri, Crowell, Crowson, Gomes, Gurney, Lachance, Soucie