JUNIORS’ PITCHING DOMINANT
OVER VENEZUELA

IXPATA – Phillippe Aumont of Gatineau, Québec, Colin Buckborough of Niagara Falls, Ontario and Ryan Kennedy of Calgary, Alberta combined to hold Venezuela to one run on two hits as the Canadian Junior National Baseball Team came out with a 3-1 victory at the America’s World Junior Qualifying tournament.

Aumont started the game for the Canadians and was perfect in his two innings of work. He only faced the minimum of hitters and of the six batters he faced, he struck out five of them.

Buckborough followed Aumont and allowed one run on two hits, all in the fourth inning. Maykor Rojas singled, stole second and moved to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch. Jose Rivero followed that with a single. Buckborough would pitch four innings, allowing the one run and two hits and would strikeout five.

Kennedy would finish things off for the Juniors and would only allow two walks in his three innings of relief.

Offensively, Carter Bell of Courtenay, B.C. and Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. scored Canada’s three runs of the game. Both Bell and Lawrie would score in the first inning, Bell score on Lawrie’s double after drawing a leadoff walk and Lawrie came around to score on a consecutive double from Leslie Williams of Scarborough, Ontario.

Lawrie would score a second time in the third inning on a sacrifice fly from Chad Stang of Surrey, B.C. after hitting his second double of the game and advancing to third on a Williams single.

Lawrie would finish 2-for-2 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI. Williams was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Bell was 0-for-2 with a run scored and three walks and Jordan Wideman of Mississauga, Ontario and Brett Sanders of Etobicoke, Ontario were 1-for-3 and 1-for-4 respectively.

Next up for the Junior National Team will be the Bahamas on Monday, August 27 at 9:30 am at Hacienda Stadium.

BASEBALL CANADA– 26 August 2007