Juniors lose finale in Dominican to Cubs DSL club
Toronto Mets LHP Ryan Press (Toronto, Ont.), left FieldHouse Pirates Owen Gregg (Oakville, Ont.) and Mets Dante Smith (Ajax, Ont.). Photo: Baseball Canada
May 21, 2024
By Eugenio Matos
Baseball Canada
The Junior National Team fell just short of a comeback as they dropped the last game of the Dominican Pro Academy Camp 6-5 against the Chicago Cubs DSL.
The Canadians came out on the wrong side of the scorecard despite scoring five runs and outhitting the Cubs 9-6.
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Ryan Press (Toronto, Ont.) struck out three batters and allowed a run despite not permitting a hit over his two innings of work. Mark Rogers (Cambridge, Ont.) was the first pitcher out of the bullpen, picking up three strikeouts and allowing only a hit over his two scoreless innings.
The Juniors took their first lead of the game via an Owen Gregg (Oakville, Ont.) solo home run in the top of the fifth for a 2-1 lead at the time. The shortstop finished his day 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Dante Smith (Ajax, Ont.) smashed a solo home run of his own in the top of the sixth, giving the lead back to the Juniors after the Cubs had tied the game in their half of the fifth. Smith finished 1-for-3.
Great Lake Canadians Tate Carey (Windsor, Ont.), left, ABC’s Anthony Clavet (Québec, Que.) and Okotoks Dawgs Leo Cote (Ayer’s Cliff, Que.)
The Cubs responded with three runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to take command of the game in the late innings.
Tate Carey (Windsor, Ont.) came into the game and kept the Cubs bats in check over the last two innings. The right-hander didn’t allow a hit and punched out two over two scoreless frames.
The Juniors would bring the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the 10th as they managed to score a pair of runs thanks to an Anthony Clavet (Québec, Que.) RBI single and a Leo Cote (Ayer’s Cliff, Que.) fly ball but the Juniors came up short of a comeback.