Big Man on Campus Week 16

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

The number of college teams and Canadian players in action each week may be shrinking as the season inches toward the finish line, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of performances that deserve recognition.

Besides, what’s better than the home stretch in a push for a championship?

Let’s get caught up on the top performers from May 6-to-12.

Chartier leads Charleston to Mountain East championship

Trailing the Mountain East Conference championship game 4-0 to West Virginia State, Eric Chartier (Newmarket, Ont.) hit a three-run home run to pull the University of Charleston to within one before the Golden Eagles would score 14 more en route to the title. Over the course of four tournament games, Chartier had six hits, three walks and eight RBIs. He went 4-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs, a walk and four RBIs in a 12-2 win over Fairmont State to punch his team’s ticket to the final.

Doane drops championship game, earns at-large bid

Aaron Vulcano (Cloverdale, BC) collected nine hits, walked three times and drove in six as the Doane University Tigers made a run to the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship game before falling to Concordia-Nebraska, 5-1. Vulcano went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and five RBIs in an 11-4 victory over Jamestown to put the Tigers into the title game. Despite the loss, Doane still earned an at-large bid to the NAIA opening round.

Cassie pitches well but Queens season comes to an end

With their season on the line, Queens College turned the ball to Caleb Cassie (Delta, BC) who delivered six innings in Game 2 of their best-of-three East Coast Conference Tournament series against D’Youville. Cassie allowed three runs -- one earned -- on seven hits in a 3-1 loss. He struck out nine but the loss ended their season as they were swept 2-0 by the Saints.

Cymbalista with six hits

Colin Cymbalista (Pickering, Ont.) went 2-for-4 in Hutchinson’s 10-0 Game 1 win over Labette before going 4-for-4 with three RBIs and a stolen base in a 23-0 Game 2 victory. Next up for the Blue Dragons is a matchup with Barton Community College in the Plains District Tournament.

Hemmerling throws complete game shutout

On the topic of Barton, they received a complete game shutout from right-hander Reece Hemmerling (Beaumont, Alta.) as the Cougars beat Fort Scott 12-0. Hemmerling gave up three hits, walked two and struck out five.

Bourgeois backs Cloud County to tournament series win

In a winner-take-all Game 3 of the Region VI tournament, Noah Bourgeois (Surrey, BC) tossed six innings and allowed one run as Cloud County defeated Allen County 15-8. Bourgeois scattered four hits, walked four and struck out five to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Valero helps Sacramento State to series win

Cesar Valero (Calgary, Alta.) put together three hits, walked twice, drove in four and was hit by a pitch in Sacramento State’s 2-1 series win over Stephen F. Austin. He went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and four RBIs during a 12-1 Game 1 victory. The Hornets have three regular season games remaining on their schedule against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Wouters has impressive postseason

It was short, but Cory Wouters (Saskatoon, Sask.) made the most of McCook’s run at the Region IX championship. Wouters produced eight hits, a walk and six RBI as his team finished 1-2. He went 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs in their only win, a 9-8 victory over Lamar.

Hall homers twice

Jude Hall (Chilliwack, BC) hit a grand slam in Game 2 and a two-run home run in Game 3 of Southeastern Louisiana Lions’ series with Incarnate Word. In the two games he was in the lineup, he had four hits, two walks and seven RBI.

McDowell powers Beavers to sweep of UCLA

Former Okotoks Dawgs Academy outfielder Micah McDowell (Halifax, NS) hit three home runs as No. 7 Oregon State swept a three-game series from UCLA. McDowell went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk in an 11-0 Game 1 win before collecting a pair of hits in a 12-1

Game 2 victory. To fuel his team to a sweep, McDowell hit a two-run home run and a grand slam in a 15-1 Game 3 drubbing. He also walked twice in the finale. The Beavers have three-games remaining at Arizona this weekend before they get their Pac-12 Tournament started.

Poole hits two walk-off shots

Tom Poole (Calgary, Alta.) came through in a big way for Dallas Baptist University Patriots. With their mid-week contest against the University of Texas at Arlington tied 6-6, Poole hit a solo walk-off home run to give the Patriots a 7-6 win. He also hit a two-run home run in the game and finished 3-for-4 with a walk and four RBIs. In the Patriots opener of a three-game series against Liberty, he had a hit and walked twice. He then launched another walk-off home run, this time a three-run shot, in Game 2 to help his team to a 4-3 win. The finale saw him hit another solo shot and walk in a 5-1 win.

The weather is warming and the stakes continue to rise with each passing day of the college season.

Check back next week to see who’s still playing and how they did.

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 Canadian coverage all year.