DSL: Juniors win in tour finale, Davis, Naylor, Smith dazzle

Leadoff hitter Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) collected four hits, including a triple and two doubles and drove in two runs to lead the Junior National Team to a 9-6 win over a team of Minnesota Twins prospects in their Dominican Summer League finale on Saturday.  Photo Credit: Baseball Canada

May 27, 2017

By Adam Morissette

Baseball Canada

BOCA CHICA, Dominican Republic – After losing the first three games of the Dominican Summer League tour, the Junior National Team have since gone 6-2-2 including today’s 9-6 win over the DSL Twins.

Leadoff hitter Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.) collected four hits including a triple and two doubles, and drove in two runs.

GAME INFORMATION

Score: Canada (U-18) 9 DSL Twins 6
Location: Twins Dominican Academy – Boca Chica, DR
Weather: 32 degrees Celsius, Sunny

Canada 18U Starting Lineup:

1. Cooper Davis - CF
2. Adam Hall - SS
3. Edouard Julien – 2B
4. Noah Naylor – DH
5. Jason Willow – 3B  
6. Michael Stovman – EH
7. Archer Brookman - C
8. Dondrae Bremner – 1B
9. Denzel Clarke - RF
10. Lucas Parente - LF

Starting Pitcher: RHP Cade Smith

HOW IT HAPPENED

-A walk to Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) and a bunt single from Lucas Parente (Burlington, Ont.) was followed by doubles from Cooper Davis and Adam Hall that staked the juniors out to a 3-0 lead. Davis then moved to third on a Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) infield single and later scored on a double steal.
-Davis was at it again in the fifth as he doubled home Parente and later scored from third on a wild pitch to put the juniors in front by six.
-Starter Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) stymied the Twins’ offence for four innings before issuing a pair of walks and an infield single to load the bases in the fifth. The Twins took advantage and plated one run on a ground out to first before using a single to add one more.
-Jaden Griffin (Lower Sackville, N.S.) entered the game in the sixth and recorded two quick outs before allowing three consecutive singles to bring the Twins to within three.
-The juniors waited until the eighth to put the game out of reach as Naylor’s triple to right scored two before Archer Brookman (Montréal, Que.) cashed him in on a ground out to short.
-The Twins added one in the eighth before plating two in ninth.

JNT HIGHLIGHTS

-Offensively, contributions were felt at the top and bottom of the order as Lucas Parente, Adam Hall and Noah Naylor combined for six hits, four runs scored and four RBI, while Cooper Davis had four hits, scored two runs and drove in a pair.
-Cade Smith provided five solid innings on the mound, four of which were scoreless, and struck out a game-high four batters

TEAM LEADERS

Hits: 4, Davis (4/5); 2, Hall (2/4), Naylor (2/5), Parente (2/3)
Runs: 2, Davis, Parente; 1, Hall, Julien, Naylor, Clarke
Doubles: 2, Davis; 1, Hall
Triples: 1, Davis, Naylor
RBIs: 2, Davis, Hall, Naylor; 1, Brookman
Strikeouts: 4, Smith; 3, Undershute; 1, Griffin

UP NEXT

Players and staff will return home tomorrow. The next event on the Junior National Team calendar is the final selection camp that will run from August 18-28 in Ajax, Ont. The camp will determine the 20-player roster that will represent Canada at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Ont. from September 1 to 10.