Team Ontario SS Andrew Kobryn has six hits in three games, including a triple and a double.

June 5, 2025

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Thames Centre, Ont. _ The Windsor Selects and Team Ontario entered the day undefeated and untied.

They ended the day still owning undefeated records ... as Windsor’s Nate Winney provided the game-tying, two-out, two-run drive to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning.

It wasn’t a game winner, but Winney kept Windsor atop Pool A as Day II drew to a close at the 18U Perfect Game Canadian National Championship Tour on Thursday afternoon.

Team Ontario shortstop Andrew Kobryn made a fine play for the third out of the seventh. He threw on the run and was told he resembled a young Troy Tulowitzki.

“Tulowitzki was my favourite player when he was in his prime, I loved the way he played shortstop ... now it is Javy -- Javy Baez,” Kobryn said. “He was back at shortstop the other day.”

We run into lots of teenagers who talk about their faves. We’re not sure how many we run into who are into reading box scores or following where their “guy” plays. After winning a gold glove with the Chicago Cubs (2020) and making two all-star games (2018-19) at shortstop, Baez has been everywhere this spring with the Detroit Tigers.

Baez has been reborn, playing 33 games in centre field, 15 at third, two at second and nine back at his old station at short.

Kobryn, who hits lead-off in coach Ryan Sattz’s lineup doubled in the eighth run in the top of the seventh. And he does hit. Kobryn doubled, singled and is hitting .545 through three games.

A Newmarket Hawks grad, Kobryn joined Team Ontario three years ago and has commited to the University of Charleston. While this has been a good week, his most memorable game came against Canes Kentucky when he went 2-for-3 with a grand slam ... “using a wood bat, we beat them pretty good” in Marietta, Ga.

The most helpful coach he has ever had has been Joe Prussiti, now a coach with the Canadian Bulldogs.

“He was an overall, good guy, he helped me a lot after he went to college (Trinity Christian College and Morton College),” Kobryn said. “We still talk.”

What does a writer do in a tie game?

Talk to someone from both teams. Except the Selects’ talk was shorter than Team Ontario’s. It’s not like both teams were going into the clubhouse for a post-game spread. They were headed home.

So off he hiked to the parking lot where we spotted only one person with a Selects jacket headed to dump some empty water bottles in the trash.

“I’m looking for the home run hitter,” I asked.

“That’s me,” Winney said.

Now that’s when you know you are having a good day … one Select in the parking lot and it is the right one.

“But I should tell you I’m already committed,” Winney said.

No, as dapper as I was dressed, I am not a college recruiter ... “I wanted to talk to you for a story,” I told him.

Winney said he’d be “right back.”

“I was hunting a fastball,” said the clean-up hitter, who had three hits on the day, including his first-pitch swat which emptied the first-base dugout. For it was a no doubter.

“I’m a fourth hole hitter, I wasn’t going to swing at a ball in the dirt,” said Winney, who is headed for Ernie Whitt country ... the Windsor suburb of Macomb County, Mich. about an hour from his house. It was his third homer of the season.

Winney plays for coach Chad Matton, along with assistants Noah Richardson, Lucas de Luca and Riley Vernon, who has helped the slugger with his hitting. Starting out playing for his hometown Amherstburg Cardinals, Winney moved to the Windsor Stars -- Joe Siddall’s former home (“he’s a reporter now,” said Winney) and now the Selects.

“We’re not surprised to go undefeated,” Winney said of the 6-5-1 Selects behind the Ontario Blue Jays (10-3), Ontario Royals (6-2) and Team Ontario (6-3).

To set up the Winney homer, Mylo Wasileff was hit by a pitch, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a Joel Leblanc single. Then, Winney went deep.

Brewers Langley Blaze Oscar Leah was on the mound pitching a one hitter over five innings.

Still undefeated and untied: Jamie Bodaly’s Brewers Langley Blaze ran the table with an 8-0 romp over the Ontario Nationals as Oscar Leah pitched a complete-game one-hitter. He fanned eight in his 70-pitch outing.

Evan Dugdale homered and knocked in two runs while Luke Laird, Sam Sugden and Liam Hallman had a pair of hits each. Silas Watt, Owen Mayencourt and Keenan Parker also contributed a hit each.

Aaron Mander had the only hit for the Nationals.

Most people thought it was be the Academy Baseball Canada and the Ontario Blue Jays in the final. It still might be, but the Windsor Selects, Team Ontario and the Brewers Langley Blaze enter Day III without a loss

* * *

Undefeated and untied: Acadamie Baseball Canada scored two runs in the fifth to beat the Mississauga Tigers 5-2 and remain undefeated as 16U play continued. The Tigers are an OBA team and are not in the Canadian Premier League.

“I thought that the game was electric,” said Mathieu Dion, the ABC coach, who claims he is 29, but looks 19. “We stole a bunch of bases, we took the extra base.

“That’s a strong group over there. They are good enough to play in the CPBL. They are a good team.”

The Tigers threw out a runner at the plate in the top of the first and ABC gunned down a runner at the plate in the bottom of the first. Aidan Dimma, son of former Toronto Blue Jays lefty, made two fine plays in centre, as did right fielder Josh Holden. Catcher Josh Downey threw out a runner and ABC’s William Nolet made a diving catch.

William Nolet drove in the decisive runs with a single to left.

“I’ve been in a slump, I was trying to barrel up a ball,” said Nolet, who struck out, walked and was hit by a pitch in ABC’s opening-game 5-1 win over the Ontario Blue Jays.

Raphael Besançon and Nolet each had two hits for ABC, while John Robinson had two hits and drove in both runs.

* * *

We remember you: For four innings we looked at a man two sections over. Then, we remembered. It was the Quebec coach from the 2023 13U nationals in Woodstock. Napoleon Rivard was facing a 3-0 count with a man aboard.

“Hit it into the trees,” instructed the third base coach, Armen Ohanian, with the not so subtle swing sign.

Rivard hit a walk-off, two-run homer. Ohanian’s son Arnold homered earlier in the game and came on in relief in the gold medal game to get the save.

Arnold, who had two hits in the win over Mississauga, is only 14 and is certainly one to watch playing 16U. He’ll play for Quebec at the 15U championships in Prince Edward Island.

On the way home I had the perfect excuse to phone my grandson and tell him who I saw play.

“Grampy, that’s the best player I ever played against ... definitely.”

Day 1

18U Schedule

Wednesday

Brewers Langley Blaze 6, Academy of Baseball Canada 1

Ontario Nationals 18U 7, Toronto Mets 6

Fieldhouse Pirates 4, Ontario Blue Jays 18U 1

Team Ontario 18u 7, Tigers HPP 6

Great Lake Canadians 6, Webber Wildcats 2

Windsor Selects 5, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 1

Ontario Blue Jays 18U 7, Mississauga Tigers HPP 0

Toronto Mets 9, Academy of Baseball Canada 9

Windsor Selects 9, Fieldhouse Pirates 1

Brewers Langley Blaze 5, Great Lake Canadians 2

Team Ontario 6, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 5

Ontario Nationals 18U 2, Webber Wildcats 0

Thursday

Ontario Blue Jays 18U 8, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 0

Brewers Langley Blaze 8, Ontario Nationals 0

Fieldhouse Pirates 5, Mississauga Tigers 2

Team Ontario 8, Windsor Selects 8

Webber Wildcats 8, Toronto Mets 2

Friday

9 AM @ Field of Dreams Tigers HPP vs. Ottawa-Nepean Canadians

9 AM @ Royal Field Toronto Mets vs. Great Lake Canadians 18U (Luke Foulds)

11:30 AM @ Field of Dreams Windsor Selects (Matthew Neufeld) vs. Ontario Blue Jays 18U

11:30 AM @ Royal Field Ontario Nationals 18U vs. Academy of Baseball Canada

2 PM @ Field of Dreams Fieldhouse Pirates vs. Team Ontario 18u

2 PM @ Royal Field Brewers Langley Blaze vs. Webber Wildcats

Saturday

2 PM @ Royal Field Ontario Blue Jays 18U vs. Team Ontario 18u

2 PM @ Field of Dreams Academy of Baseball Canada vs. Webber Wildcats

4:30 PM @ Royal Field Fieldhouse Pirates vs. Ottawa-Nepean Canadians

4:30 PM @ Field of Dreams Toronto Mets vs. Brewers Langley Blaze

7 PM @ Royal Field Windsor Selects (Sam Wirag) vs. Tigers HPP

7 PM @ Field of Dreams Great Lake Canadians 18U vs. Ontario Nationals 18U

Sunday

Semi-finals

11:30 AM @ Field of Dreams Seed 2 Pool A vs. Seed 1 Pool B

11:30 AM @ Royal Field Seed 2 Pool B vs. Seed 1 Pool A

Championship

4:30 PM @ Royal Field Winners of two semi-final game winners.

Standings

Pool A

Team Names Prov. PCT W L T RA RS

1. Windsor Selects ON .833 2 0 1 10 22

2. Team Ontario 18u ON .833 2 0 1 19 21

3. Fieldhouse Pirates ON .667 2 1 0 12 10

4. Ontario Blue Jays 18U ON .667 2 1 0 4 16

5. Mississauga Tigers HPP ON .000 0 3 0 19 8

6. Ottawa-Nepean ON .000 0 3 0 19 6

Pool B

Team Names Prov. PCT W L T RA RS

1. Brewers Langley Blaze BC 1.000 3 0 0 3 19

2. Ontario Nationals 18U ON .667 2 1 0 14 9

3. Great Lake Canadians 18U ON .500 1 1 0 7 8

4. Webber Wildcats AB .333 1 2 0 10 10

5. Academy of Baseball Canada QC .250 0 1 1 15 10

6. Toronto Mets ON .167 0 2 1 24 17

* * *

16 Under Division

Thursday

Toronto Mets 16U 7, Great Lake Canadians 5

Ontario Blue Jays 16U 9, Ottawa Nepean Canadians 6

Victus Prospects 8, Toronto Mets 1

Mississauga Tigers 11, Ottawa-Nepean Canadians 3

Academy Baseball Canada 5, Ontario Blue Jays 1

FIeldhouse Pirates 6, Victus Prospects 5

Academy of Baseball Canada 4 vs. Mississauga Tigers 2

Great Lake Canadians 3. Field House Pirates 1

4:30 PM @ Royal Field Ontario Blue Jays 16U vs. Academy of Baseball Canada (Mathieu Levesque)

7 PM @ Field of Dreams Toronto Mets 16U vs. Victus Prospects Ontario

7 PM @ Royal Field Ottawa Nepean Canadians Tigers HPP

Friday

4:30 PM @ Royal Field Great Lake Canadians vs. Victus Prospects Ontario

4:30 PM @ Field of Dreams Tigers HPP vs. Ontario Blue Jays 16U

7 PM @ Royal Field Toronto Mets 16U vs. FIeldhouse Pirates 16U

7 PM @ Field of Dreams Ottawa Nepean Canadians vs. Academy of Baseball Canada (Josh Theriault)

Saturday

Playoff Round 1

9 AM @ Field of Dreams Pool A Seed 3 vs. Pool B Seed 2

9 AM @ Royal Field Pool B Seed 3 vs. Pool A Seed 2

11:30 AM @ Field of Dreams Pool B Seed 4 vs. Pool A Seed 1

11:30 AM @ Royal Field Pool A Seed 4 vs. Pool B Seed 1

Sunday

Semi-final

9 AM @ Field of Dreams

9 AM @ Royal Field

Championship

2 PM @ Royal Field

Consolation

2 PM @ Field of Dreams

4:30 PM @ Field of Dreams

* * *
16U Standings

Pool A

Team Names Prov. PCT W L T RA RS

1. Toronto Mets 16U ON .500 1 1 0 13 8

2. Great Lake Canadians ON .500 1 1 0 8 8

3. FIeldhouse Pirates 16U ON .500 1 1 0 8 7

4. Victus Prospects Ontario ON .050 1 1 0 7 13

Pool B

Team Names Prov. PCT W L T RA RS

1, Academy of Baseball Canada QC 1.000 2 0 0 3 9

2, Tigers HPP ON.500 1 1 0 7 13

3, Ontario Blue Jays 16U ON .500 1 1 0 11 10

4, Ottawa Nepean Canadians ON .000 0 2 0 20 9

Elliott, PG Day II: Kobryn, Leah, Ohanian, Winney