Big Men On Campus Week 11

By Matt Betts
Canadian Baseball Network
Fresh faces continue to emerge from the college ranks as the season continue. Some of the best performances in all of college have come from players who reside north of the border. Sit back, relax and enjoy the top performances this week.

Young has huge week
It seems like almost weekly there is a Canadian who has a performance that could be the best in college baseball. This past week it was Jared Young (Prince George, BC) who went off on the opposition. He got things rolling with a 2-for-4 game, swatting a pair of doubles while driving in two in a 18-5 loss to Virginia. He went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, two home runs and was hit by a pitch against Virginia Military Institute in Old Dominion’s next game. His week only got better in a weekend series with Middle Tennessee State. In was 4-for-5 with another home run in an opening game win. After going 2-for-6 with yet another home run and a stolen base in Game 2, a 5-3 win, he was a perfect 4-fof-4 with a home run in Game 3. For his video game numbers, he was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week and was also named to the Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week list.

More home runs
Home runs are fun … unless you’re a pitcher. Jonathan Lacroix (Montreal, Que.) was tearing the cover off the ball in Seminole State’s (OK) last five games. He hit two home runs in their first game against Oklahoma Christian, a 13-12 win. He hit another one in the following game in the series opener against Northeastern Christian. His fourth of the week came in Game 3. When all was said and done he went 9-for-20 with four home runs and ten RBIs as his team went 4-1.

Justin Graff-Rowe (Waterloo, Ont.) was MIAA Hitter of the Week.

Graff-Rowe earns MIAA honours
A hit, being hit by a pitch and collecting a RBI isn’t a terrible way to start a week but it wasn’t good enough for Justin Graff-Rowe (Waterloo, Ont.). After that performance in an 8-5 loss to Lindenwood he went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, a double and four RBIs in an 8-2 win over Rockhurst. Next up was a series with Emporia State, which Central Missouri dropped 2-1. In Game 1, Graff-Rowe went 4-for-5 with two RBIs. Game 2 was his best of the series as he had three hits, two of which were home runs (a three-run shot and a solo blast). He closed the series going 2-for-4 with a hit by pitch, two RBIs and a stolen base. He was named Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Hitter of the Week.

How about some more
Chris Thibideau (Dartmouth, NS) got in on the long ball last week. Despite his University of North Florida team being dumped 20-3 by the College of Charleston, Thibideau got things off to a good start with a solo shot in the first inning. When the final out was recorded, he had a 4-for-5 day with two RBIs. His team had better luck in a weekend series with Lipscomb, taking 2-of-3 from the Bisons. In Game 1, a 11-1 win, he had a hit, a walk and drove in a run. He followed it up with a two-run home run in a Game 2 win. Lipscomb took Game 3 to avoid the sweep.

Horvath picks up fifth win
Wayne State only mustered two runs but Chris Horvath (Lakeshore, Ont.) made sure that was enough to pick up the win. Horvath tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits with seven strikeouts and a trio of walks. He improved his record to 5-1 and holds a 2.65 ERA.

Procopio does it himself
Daniel Procopio (Toronto, Ont.) must have sensed his bullpen wanted a day off. The Torontonian threw a complete game in Niagara University’s Game 2 win over Quinnipiac. He allowed a run on three hits with eleven strikeouts and two walks over seven innings. His record stands at 4-2.

Bourassa goes six scoreless
Lane Community College handed the ball over to Landen Bourassa (Lethbridge, Alta.) against Clackamas and should feel good about their decision. Six scoreless innings, three hits, five strikeouts and a walk was his line, good enough to pick up the win to go to 3-0 with a 2.54 ERA in 2017.

Pompey provides the pop, Kentucky drops 3-of-4
It was a good week for Tristan Pompey (Brampton Ont.), not so much for his Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky was handed a 5-3 loss by the University of Louisville to open their week. Pompey went 2-for-4 with a RBI against the Cardinals. It appeared the Wildcats were going to get back on track by taking Game 1 of their series with Mississippi State behind a hit, three walks and two RBIs from Pompey. It wasn’t meant to be, however, as the Bulldogs took Games 2 and 3 by 10-6 scores. Pompey went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs in Game 2 and 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles in the finale.

Lloyd does it all, again
It’s hard to find a player who can impact a game in as many ways as Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, Alta). Take Indiana’s 3-2 midweek win over Ball State for example. Lloyd went 3-for-4 with a walk and a walkoff home run to give the Hoosier the victory. In that same game he threw 1 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings with a strikeout and a walk. In their series with Purdue he had another three hits, including a home run in Game 3. Unfortunately, he also took the loss in Game 1 by allowing a run in 2/3 of an inning on three hits.

Carr, Caschera cash in for Goshen
Vince Caschera (Sarnia, Ont.) pounded out eight hits, including a home run for Goshen College last week.
Preston Carr (St. Thomas, Ont.) had nine hits for Goshen, including three multi-hit games in six games total. Goshen finished the week 3-3

A .500 week for Scott
Tyler Scott (Calgary, Alta.) went a cool 5-for-10 with a walk for Bryan College.

OF Toby Handley (Whitby, Ont.), who played last summer on Cape Cod pitching for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Handley handles the bat, Turcotte uses arm, Stony Brook goes 5-0
Contrary to Kentucky, Stony Brook had themselves an excellent week as a team. Toby Handley (Whitby, Ont.) had a lot to do with that. In a 13-2 thumping of Iona, Handley had himself a 3-for-6 game with a double, a triple and three RBIs. They then took all four in a weekend series with Sacred Heart. In Game 1, Handley had another three hits with a double, a triple and three RBIs. He walked twice and drove in a run in Game 2 before hitting a triple and walking in Game 3. He closed things out with a with a hit, a walk and a stolen base.

Sam Turcotte (Toronto, Ont.) picked up his first college win in his team’s 9-3, Game 1 win over Sacred Heart.

Cawker has six hits in three games
Sam Cawker (Courtice, Ont.) used six hits to help lead his team to 4-of-5 wins last week. His best game came in the second he played where he went 3-for-4 with a walk, a RBI and a stolen base.

Rijo finds a way to get on
Ryan Rijo (Barrie, Ont.) found his way on base 13 times in five games for New Mexico Junior College. He used eight hits and five walks to help his team to four wins. In their series with New Mexico Military, Rijo had a home run in Games 3 and 4 and drove in four runs in each game. He collected 12 RBIs in all.

Jarvis joins rotation, then bullpen
Trinity International’s Ethan Jarvis (Kelowna, BC) apparently doesn’t care when or where he pitches. In a 10-2 win over Trinity Christian, he tossed eight innings of two run baseball. He allowed five hits, struck out one and walked five in picking up the win. Fellow Canadian Jordan Alvernaz (Mississauga, Ont.) came on to close things out in the 9th, making it an all-Canadian pitching performance. Jarvis bounced back to throw two innings of relief in Game 2 of their series with Roosevelt. He allowed a run on a hit with two punchouts and a walk.

Nicholas Stobbe (Saskatoon, Sask.) pitched nnine innings in two outings, allowing one run.

No stumbling for Stobbe
Nicholas Stobbe (Saskatoon, Sask.) did the opposite of Ethan Jarvis, going from the bullpen to the rotation. In a game against Minnesota Crookston he went three scoreless innings of relief, striking out four and walking one. He then started Game 3 of the University of Mary’s series with the University of Upper Iowa, a game UM took 3-1. He worked six innings, allowing five hits and a run. He struck out three and walked four in picking up the win. He currently has a 2-3 record in 2017.

Ensing can swing for Colorado Northwestern
Cole Ensing (North Vancouver, BC) used multi-hit games in Game’s 1 and 4 to lead Colorado Northwestern to a 3-1 series win over Utah State Eastern. One of the hits in Game 1 was a home run, he had six hits in the series and he also walked three times.

Trogerlic-Iverson with three appearances, a save and a loss
It was a busy week for Nick Trogerlic-Iverson (Oakville, Ont.). He made three appearances for Central Arizona, picking up a save and being dealt a loss. Despite the loss, he did not give up an earned run over 3 2/3 innings.

Crowder boys have almost identical weekends
Kobe Morris (Victoria, BC) and Kyle MacDonald (Mississauga, Ont.) were basically the same person last week for the Crowder Community College baseball team. In Game 1 of Crowder’s series with Mineral Area College, a 9-0 win, Morris walked and stole a base while MacDonald walked. In Game 2, Morris walked and MacDonald record a hit in the 9-5 win. Both of them went 2-for-3 in Game 3, a 7-1 win. Morris had a home run and a RBI, while MacDonald walked and drove in a run. Morris and MacDonald both went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in a 13-1, Game 4 win. MacDonald also stole a base in the final game of the series. Crowder is 33-8 so far in 2017.

Borges with some bad luck
It was a tough luck loss for Nate Borges (Brooklin, Ont.) of Northeastern University. He got the ball against Boston College and went six innings, gave up five hits and a run with five strikeouts and a walk. He also made an appearance against Delaware. He is still looking for his first win (0-3).

Pouwells becoming another household name
No. 22 LSU-Shreveport are getting a dream season out of junior infielder Ryan Pouwells (Surrey BC). He is currently hitting .428 in 38 games, 36 starts and had nine hits last week. His best game came in the finale of the Pilots series with Jarvis Christian. In that one he went 4-for-5 with a walk, two RBIs and a stolen base.

Busy week leads to success for Sanford
McCook Community College played eight games over the last week and Jacob Sanford (Cole Harbour, NS) made the most of them. He had a hit in each game and 12 hits in all, including a home run and three triples. He drove in six as McCook went 5-3.

Demchenko deal
Zach Demchenko (Saskatoon, Sask.) served up seven innings of one run baseball for Northeastern Junior College in their 10-1 win over McCook. He scattered six hits with three strikeouts. He moved his record to 2-2.

Vickers evens record
Colby Community College’s Nick Vickers (Calgary, Alta.) picked up the win on the mound in Game 2 against Cloud County Community College. He tossed six innings, giving up two hits and a run. He struck out five and walked four while improving his record to an even 3-3.

Willow goes 6-for-12
Evan Willow (Victoria, BC) had two hits in Game 1, three hits, including a home run in Game 2 and a hit in Game 3 for McPherson College in their series with Kansas Wesleyan. On the season he is hitting .336 with six home runs and 30 RBIs.

Iowa Lakes likes Mitchell
Connor Mitchell (Branchton, Ont.) went 3-for-3 in Iowa Lakes Community College’s opening game of the week and propelled himself to six more hits in the following games. In Game 2 of the week he went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs. So far this season he is hitting .321 with a .377 OBP, .483 SLG, two home runs, 11 RBIs and six stolen bases.

Moskalyk give up two earned
It hasn’t been pretty this year for the University of Winnipeg but Tyler Moskalyk’s (Thunder Bay, Ont.) performance on the mound for the Wesmen was a welcomed sight. He went seven innings allowing five hits and three runs (two earned) in a 3-1 loss to Jamestown. He struck out five and walked one. Winnipeg fell to 0-24 on the year.

Chandler Robertson (Ancaster, Ont.) had a 4-for-5 gamme

Strong finish for Robertson
A hit in each of the first three games for Murray State last week was not bad for Chandler Robertson (Ancaster, Ont.) but it didn’t compare to his Game 4 performance. In that game he went 4-for-5 in a 17-7 win over Redlands, with a walk, two RBIs and three stolen bases.

Wlad does work for Siena Heights
Carson Wlad (Calgary, Alta.) had eight hits, including a 4-for-5 game with a RBI and stolen base in Game 2 of the week, to lead Siena Heights to 3-2 record. He finished the week with two walks, three RBIs and two stolen bases

Seginowich named SWAC Player of the Week, National Player of the Week
The honours rolled in for Salt Lake City Community College’s Nick Seginowich (Victoria, BC) for the week spanning March 27th-April 2nd. He was named Scenic West Athletic Conference Player of the Week for going 11-for-17 with two home runs, five doubles, seven RBIs and four runs scored, helping the Bruins to a 3-1 record on the week. It was the second time he garnered the honour, the first time was the beginning of March when he went 6-for-13 with two home runs, two doubles, six RBIs and four runs scored. The freshman’s performance from the 27th-2nd was good enough to be named NJCAA Player of the Week. He is the first Bruin to earn that distinction.

It was another fun week for Canadians in college baseball. Week 12 of the Big Man on Campus is sure to bring even more excitement. Check back to see Canada’s best in college baseball.

If you know of someone deserving of a mention in the weekly BMOC please email Matt Betts at mattbetts41@gmail.com

BMOC XI: Graff-Rowe, Pompey, Seginowich, Thibideau