Canadian juniors shut out by U.S.
Great Lake Canadians LHP Caleb Clark (Orillia, Ont.) started and allowed just one earned in three innings for the Junior National Team on Wednesday. Photo: Baseball Canada
September 8, 2021
Baseball Canada
BRADENTON, Florida – A day after handing the United States their first loss of the Friendship Series, the US stormed back to defeat the Junior National Team, 9-0, at Pirate City in the penultimate game of the series.
The US did all of their damage with two outs, first using a Termarr Johnson bases loaded single in the second to open the scoring with a pair of runs before adding another run in the third on a two-out base hit to centre.
Starting pitcher Caleb Clark (Orillia, Ont.) worked three innings and was charged with just one earned run allowing four hits and three walks while striking out three batters.
Canada missed an opportunity to score in the fourth as Sam White (Aurora, Ont.) and Nate Ochoa (Burlington, Ont.) had back-to-back singles before Jacob Zibin (Langley, BC) walked to load the bases before the Americans turned a double play to end the threat.
Anson McGorman (Parksville, BC) took over for Clark and worked a scoreless fourth inning before the Americans struck for six runs with two out on five hits and a walk to increase their lead to 9-0.
Boston Warkentin (Delta, BC) came on for the seventh inning and held the Americans scoreless over three innings allowing a one hits, a pair of walks while striking out four batters.
NOTES:
-Of note, the Junior National Team took the field against Team USA at the same time that Maple Ridge, BC native Larry Walker was being formally inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Walker played for the Junior National Team, then known as the Youth National Team in 1984 at the World Youth Baseball Championships in Kindersley, Saskatchewan where he caught the eye of the Montréal Expos and was later singed to a professional contract. The rest, they say, is history.
-Junior National Team Head Coach and Director of Men’s National Teams Greg Hamilton along with Baseball Canada President and CEO Jason Dickson were both in attendance at the ceremony in Cooperstown.
-The Junior National Team and the USA 18U National Team are meeting for a seven-game Friendship Series with games in Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Bradenton.
-The Friendship Series is the first event that Baseball Canada’s Junior National Team has held since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
-Friendship Series participants that were part of the spring training camp in 2020 include LHP Caleb Clark (Orillia, Ont.), LHP/OF Alexis Gravel (Repentigny, Que.), OF Joshua Jones (Blainville, Que.) and INF Nate Ochoa (Burlington, Ont.).
-The Junior National Team is holding daily workouts based out of Pirate City, the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
-The Friendship Series shifts back to LECOM Park in Bradenton Friday for the final game of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. E.T.
-All seven games of the Friendship Series are being streamed live on USA Baseball’s Facebook page: facebook.com/usabaseball.