Baseball Canada – ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, ON) hit the Junior National Team’s first home run of spring training and drove in three runs but it wasn’t enough as the juniors fell to a prospects squad from the Detroit Tigers organization, 9-4.

GAME INFORMATION

Event: Spring Training
Score: Detroit Tigers 9 Canada (U18) 4  
Location: Walter Fuller Complex – St. Petersburg, Florida

Canada U18 Starting Lineup:

1. Cooper Davis – CF
2. Adam Hall – DH
3. Noah Naylor – C
4. Andrew Yerzy – DH
5. Carter Loewen – DH
6. Tyler Duncan – RF
7. Edouard Julien – 2B
8. Isaac Deveaux – LF
9. Dondrae Bremner – SS
10. Steven Moretto – 3B
11. Robert Holmes – 1B

Starting Pitcher: RHP Jordan Balazovic

HOW IT HAPPENED

-After retiring the first two batters in the top of the first, JNT starter Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, ON) allowed three consecutive singles that gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
-Adam Hall (London, ON) reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second to move into scoring position for Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, ON) who cashed him in with a two out single that knotted the score at one.
-The juniors went in front by one in second as Tyler Duncan (Sooke, BC) lined a single up the middle before a walk and wild pitch moved him to third. On the ensuing play, a throwing error by the Tigers’ first baseman allowed Duncan to scamper home with a two out run.
-The Tigers retook the lead in the fourth as they used three straight singles off JNT reliever Jack DeCooman (North Vancouver, BC) to plate the tying run before an RBI groundout put them up by one.
-The juniors responded in the bottom of the inning tying the score with one swing of the bat and it was Andrew Yerzy whose solo blast came with one out in the inning.
-Three doubles including two to start the top of the fifth put the Tigers in front by two before they added two more in the sixth with the big blow coming in the form of an RBI triple.
-A leadoff home run in the eighth off reliever Carson Perkins (Bienfait, SK) gave the Tigers a five-run lead before the clubs traded runs in the ninth as Robbie Holmes (New Sarepta, AB) singled and later scored when Adam Hall (London, ON) hit into a fielder’s choice.

JNT HIGHLIGHTS

-Save for the three consecutive singles given up in the first that led to a Tigers runs, starter Jordan Balazovic turned in a solid performance on the mound that saw him fan one over three innings of work.
-The juniors enjoyed an eight hit day offensively with Yerzy and Holmes collecting two apiece, while Cooper Davis (Mississauga, ON), Tyler Duncan, Edouard Julien (Québec, QC) and Steven Moretto (Burnaby, BC) had singles.
-Three-year Junior National Team member Andrew Yerzy flexed his muscle with a solo blast in the fourth and drove in two runs as part of a 2-for-3 day at the plate.

TEAM LEADERS

Hits: 2, Yerzy (2/3), Holmes (2/3); 1, Davis (1/3), Duncan (1/3), Julien (1/2), Moretto (1/3)
Home Runs: 1, Yerzy
RBI: 2, Yerzy; 1, Hall, Bremner
Runs: 1, Yerzy, Hall, Duncan, Holmes
Stolen Bases: 1, Hall
Strikeouts: 3, DeCooman; 1, Balazovic, Perkins

UP NEXT

The juniors’ spring training schedule continues tomorrow at the Walter Fuller Complex in St. Petersburg as they return to international play with a doubleheader scheduled against a European team followed by an Australian squad, both teams are sponsored by Major League Baseball… LHP Wesley Moore (Surrey, BC) gets the start vs Europe at 10am ET, while LHP Jaden Griffin (Lower Sackville, NS) will toe the rubber vs Australia at 2pm ET… Both games can be heard live by visiting radiostpete.com.