BMOC XI: Bouchey, Lamke, Osborne, Remillard, Robinson,
BMOC Week 11
By Matt Betts
Canadian Baseball Network
It was another hectic college baseball schedule this past week and Canadians were right in the middle of it. We are into Week 11 and new faces continue to pop up to go along with those who frequent the weekly Big Men on Campus column. This week’s edition includes a broken record and a conference player of the week. Here is the rundown of this weeks top performers.
Osborne continues torrid run
It’s not much fun to face the Tampa Spartans lineup, especially when J.D. Osborne is swing a hot stick. His bat has been as hot as ever over the past few weeks and #23 Catawba got the brunt end of it over the weekend. In Tampa’s Game 1, 14-5 win, Osborne would go 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. It was another multi-hit game in Tampa’s Game 2, 11-7 win. One of those hits was a triple and he also recorded a RBI and two runs scored. If you think the first two games were good he saved the best for last. In the finale, a 15-10 Tampa win, Osborne would launch his second home run of the weekend as one of three hits on the day. He would finish with a RBI and three runs scored. All of this would earn him Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week honours spanning the week of April 4th-10th. Tampa has currently won six straight and head to Boca raton, Fla. this weekend to take on the Lynn Fighting Knights.
Goodall breaking records
It was an extra special weekend for Liam Goodall (Nanaimo, BC) and the Embry-Riddle Eagles as a long standing record was broken. First off, lets recap the week that was for Goodall before finding out what was so historic. In a 13-12 Game 1 win over Eckerd College, Goodall would go 2-for-5 with a walk and three runs scored. Game 2 wouldn’t be as close and Embry-Riddle ran away with a 13-1 win. Goodall went 4-for-5 with a two doubles, four RBIs and a run scored. Although the Eagles would drop the finale 10-3, Goodall still had himself a nice game going 3-for-4 with a RBI double. History was made with Goodall’s seventh inning RBI double in Game 3. That hit was hit #276 in his college career at Embry-Riddle and broke the former school hit record held by Jared Mathis. The previous record had gone untouched since 1997. Goodall currently leads the Eagles with a .389 batting average to go along with a home run, 25 RBIs and 38 runs scored. He is also 15-for-17 in stolen base attempts through 39 games, all starts.
Nice week for Ridgewater pair
It was a good week for a couple of Ridgewater Community College baseball players. Cooper Lamke (Thunder Bay, Ont.) would go 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored in his teams Game 1 win over Itasca. He would follow that up in Game 2 by going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs. Vermilion would provide the competition in the way of a Sunday doubleheader and Lamke would get himself a knock and score three times in the two games.
Braedon Rybak (East St. Paul, Man.) would get the call on the mound for Ridgewater in Game 1 of their Sunday doubleheader against Vermilion. He would work five innings, giving up just three hits, no runs while walking three and striking out six. It would be good enough for his second win of the season.
Bouchey strong again
It was another stellar start for Brayden Bouchey (White Rock, BC) of the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks. It was the University of Texas at Arlington attempting to rough up Bouchey this time but it was easier said than done. Bouchey would go seven strong innings giving up just four hits and two runs (one earned) without walking a hitter. He would strikeout an impressive 10.
Robinson red hot for Vaqueros
Mitchell Robinson (Surrey, BC) is heating up like the Arizona dessert in July. In a game against Pima this past week he went 3-for-4 with a RBI in the 6-1 win. Pima would squeak out the next game 14-13 in 11 innings but that didn’t stop Robinson from torching the opposing pitching staff. He would have two hits, one of which was a double, to go along with three RBIs and a run scored in that one. Next up was a 15-4 loss to Scottsdale in which he had a hit and crossed the plate once. Central Arizona would bounce back to take one from Scottsdale by the score of 10-4. Robinson would leg out a double and drive in two.
Moxham marvellous in Midland win
Midland College got exactly what they needed from Brady Moxham (Oakville, Man.) in their 12-2 win over Odessa. Moxham tossed five innings and scattered just three hits en route to his fourth win of the season. He would allow two runs without walking a batter and struck out three in the game that ended after five. Moxham is now 4-2 on the year.
UBC splits with Corban
It was a great start to the weekend for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, but it didn’t quite end as planned.
Game 1 would see them take a close one by a 2-1 margin. Vinny Martin (Pender Island, BC) would punch two hits for the T-Birds while also scoring a run. John Whaley (Oakville, Ont.) would one up his teammate by going 3-for-4 with a RBI. Mike Orosz (Vancouver, BC) would be the third big bat for UBC as he would go 2-for-3 with a double. Not surprisingly it was Alex Webb (Surrey, BC) who was again strong on the mound for UBC. He would go seven innings, giving up a pair of hits and one run. He would walk just one and strikeout nine. As good as that start was, it was Tyler Gillies (London, Ont.) picking up the win. Gillies would throw two innings, give up one hit, no runs and a walk with three strikeouts. It was his first win of the season and his record now stands at 1-0.
The Thunderbirds would again hold Corban to a run in Game 2, this time finishing with a 4-1 win. Martin was again in the middle of the offensive attack going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. The big hit came in the form of a three run blast. Curtis Taylor (Port Coquitlam, BC) would continue the dominance on the mound by throwing a complete game. He allowed eight hits, a run with two walks and eight strikeouts. He improved his record to 7-3.
There was only one run scored in Game 3 and unfortunately for UBC it belonged to Corban. A Martin and Whaley hit were two of the bright spots in a game that was dominated by pitching. Connor Noble (Vancouver, BC) would be the tough luck loser going eight innings, allowing seven hits, one unearned run with no walks and seven strikeouts. His record dropped to 6-4 on the campaign. It was the second time this year that Corban has edged UBC 1-0, the first was back on March 6th. Corban would earn the split with a 5-2 Game 4 victory.
UBC now hits the road this weekend for a big four game set with Lewis-Clark State University.
How about a new name
It was Canadian getting the start on the hill when the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions downed the Alabama A&M Bulldogs 5-2 over the weekend. C.J. Lewington (Calgary, Alta.) would help secure the sweep for the Golden Lions by going five innings, giving up six hits, a run with three walks and four strikeouts. The junior is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in seven appearances, three starts.
Borden slams door in two appearances
Despite dropping an 8-6 decision to Western Texas, Jesse Borden (Dartmouth, NS) had himself a nice appearance. Borden would throw an inning and would not allow a hit in the loss. No one would cross the plate against him as he would walk two and strikeout two for Midland. He would next see action in Midland’s 7-4 win over Odessa. In that one he would earn his second save of the season by throwing two innings, allowing a hit, no runs with no walks and five strikeouts. On the year he has appeared in nine games and is 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA. He has tossed 12 2/3 innings with 17 strikeouts. All of his appearances have been out of the bullpen.
Couple of Griffs shining like gold
It was a weekend many closers can only dream of. Iannick Remillard (Valleyfield, Que.) however, was out there making it happen. In a midweek against Kent State he would go 1 1/3 innings allowing a hit, zero runs or walks. He would earn the save in the 5-4 Canisius win. He would earn another save in Cansius’ series opening win over Manhattan. He pitch a clean ninth inning in that one. He would round out his weekend in Game 2 of the series, a 3-0 Griffins win. He would go 1 2/3 innings this time around while allowing a single hit. He would not allow run or walk but would strikeout two. Just to recap, that was a three-save week for Remillard. He earned saves number six, seven and eight in three straight games. Not a bad weekend for the Canadian reliever.
Josh Shepley (Windsor, Ont.) would get the call in the opener against Manhattan and he delivered. He would throw six innings, giving up six hits and a lone run. He would walk just one and strikeout three en route to the no-decision.
Caputo getting it done for Seawolves
Johnny Caputo (Toronto, Ont.) would collect seven hits over the last week as the Stony Brook Seawolves won three of a possible four games. In the first game against Manhattan he would pound out three hits en route to a 3-for-4 day. He would also knock in two runs and score one as well. In the weekend opener against Hartford he would have another hit a a run scored. The game went the way of the Seawolves by a score of 9-0. Game 2 would be the only game they would lose, dropping it 9-5. Caputo would add another hit and run scored in that affair. Stony Brook would immediately get back on track winning Game 3, 2-0. Caputo would go 2-for-3 with a RBI to close out his successful weekend.
With another week in the books it becomes more evident how important the play of Canadians is to their respective schools. Canadians all over the map continue to be vital to their teams success. Make sure to check back next week to see who steps up and gets a mention in week 12 of the BMOC.
If you know of someone who is deserving of a mention in this weekly column, please email Matt Betts @ mattbetts41@gmail.com