August 9, 2024

By Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

Perseverance and passion took two pre-teens with big dreams from the sandlots in B.C. to their current positions as teammates for Canada.

Third baseman Tim Piasentin and left-hander Sean Duncan both started their baseball careers 20 minutes away from each other at their respective homes in Coquitlam, B.C. They practiced at ball fields together growing up and played in the Little League World Series for Coquitlam in 2019 side by side.

This week, they were together again on the big stage in Panama with the Junior National Team for the 18U Pan American Championship.

It’s helpful when Duncan takes the mound to have the defence to back him in Piasentin, he said.

“It’s awesome to know that somebody from such a long time ago is behind you, and it’s like playing with your brothers,” 16-year-old Duncan said from his hotel room in Panama on Thursday.

The left-hander tossed three strong innings in relief for Canada in their 4-2 quarter finals loss to Puerto Rico in the Pan American Championship on Friday.

Four days earlier, Duncan, who plays for the Langley Blaze, had another excellent outing for Canada against No. 2 world-ranked Mexico. He had four strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings, helping Canada to an eventual 4-3 victory.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound southpaw is a threat on the mound. He is both confident and aggressive.

“I’m not afraid to throw the ball in the zone, I like to attack, and I think that’s what has separated me from other people,” he said.

However, it’s also his off-field skills that have helped him to the where he is today, his dad, and former coach, Anthony Duncan said. His dad coached him until he was 11.

He’s very self-motivated and has a notebook he takes with him to write down his exercises and everything he needs to do to stay healthy and at the top of his game, his dad said.

“We’ve never really had to push him. He’s always kind of just had a hand on his back pushing him forwards,” he said.

His pal, Tim Piasentin, is also driven, putting in the work on a daily basis to make it as far in baseball as he can.

Whether it’s sprint work for speed on the basepaths, fielding practice, or taking swings at the plate, the third baseman is always focused on how to improve his game.

“I just try to get better every day,” Piasentin said, who plays with the Okotoks Dawgs.

The 17-year-old was good friends with Duncan in Little League, spending most of the 2019 summer practicing together and competing in the World Series.

That helped strengthen the bond between the two Junior National Team teammates.

“They’re friends for life now,” he said, of the teammates he had there, which includes Duncan.

Piasentin was an important part of his team making the World Series in the first place. He helped them secure the provincial title to head to the nationals back in 2019.

His power was key. He was responsible for driving in all five runs in the game, smashing two home runs against Little Mountain Little League to secure the title with a 5-3 win.

“That was one of the best feelings of my life,” he said.

Piasentin’s dad, Robert Piasentin, was one of the coaches on that Little League team, getting a front row seat to his son on the ball field.

Like Duncan, one of the most important skills Piasentin brings to the table comes off the field in his coachability.

At the selection camp for the qualifiers back in July in North Carolina, that coachability was on full display. Whatever the coaches told him to improve on, he worked on and made the adjustments, he said.

Where they are today is a testament to that perseverance and passion, that extra work that was done when practices were done.

For the future, both of them have their eyes on the same thing.

“Hopefully [I’ll] get a division 1 scholarship and play pro ball,” Duncan said.

“I want to go pro, I want to go to the MLB and see what I can do there,” Piasentin said.

With the end goal the same - perhaps, it’s a journey that will once again end with them as teammates at the next level.