by Baseball Canada
GOLD COAST, Australia- Japan’s Reseisha College pounded-out 11 hits and took advantage of five errors to hand the Junior National Team a 6-5 loss as the pre-worlds selection camp continued.
The juniors suffered their second one-run loss in as many days and remain winless on the exhibition tour in preparation for the 18U Baseball World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan August 30th-September 8th.
Reseisha jumped on the board early as a two-out, RBI double brought in the game’s first run in the top of the first inning.
Starter Kurtis Horne (Sooke, BC) gave up a lead-off single before recording two-quick outs and after a stolen base, a two and two pitch was sent to the wall in left field allowing the runner to score from second.
Horne got out of a jam in the second, but wasn’t as fortunate in the third as Reseisha made it 2-0 as a two-out double advanced to third on a balk and scored on an RBI single.
The juniors answered back in a big way in the fourth putting up four runs to jump in front 4-2 which included a two-out, three-run triple off the bat of Lachlan Fontaine (North Vancouver, BC).
Demi Orimoloye (Orleans, ON) had led off with a walk and used his speed to advance to third on a beautiful hit-and-run single executed by Chris Thibideau (Dartmouth, NS).
Thibideau then stole second and after Jake Lumley (Windsor, ON) walked to load the bases, Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) was plunked by a pitch in the foot which brought in Orimoloye.
Two batters later, Fontaine drilled a ball into the gap in right field that rolled to the wall allowing the bases to clear and Fontaine to end up on third with a three-run triple.
The lead was short-lived, however as two Reseisha runs scored in fifth off a wild-pitch and throwing error on the same play coming with the bases loaded.
Reliever Ben Onyshko (Winnipeg, MB) retired the first two batters of the inning on back-to-back ground outs before an error, single and walk loaded the bases.
After another scored in the sixth, Onyshko settled in for the seventh and eighth not allowing a hit and recording one of his three strikeouts on the game.
After Reseisha went up by two with a run off reliever Sean Ratcliffe (Ajax, ON) in the ninth, the juniors cut the lead to one as Josh Naylor (Mississauga, ON) smacked an RBI double off the fence in left field.
Naylor’s double was his second hit of the game after he singled in the seventh.
Notes: The pre-worlds selection camp continues tomorrow as the juniors take-on Australia at 12:30pm AEST (10:30pm ET on 08/18) with Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, ON) scheduled to start. Live scoring for all games will be available at: www.mlbaap.baseball.com.au.
You can follow the Junior National Team during exhibition play and at the IBAF 18U World Cup by visitingBaseball.ca or by following @baseballcanada on Twitter.
Box Score – Reseisha College 6 JNT 5
