Kitura, Lucas, Piasentin help JNT end Dominican tour with tie
From left to right: Elliot Lascelles (Toronto, Ont.), Jerôme Lucas (Montreal, Que.), Tim Piasentin (Coquitlam, BC) helped the Junior National Team to a 7-7 tie with the Cincinnati Reds DSL squad on Wednesday. Photo: Eugenio Matos, Baseball Canada
May 21, 2025
By Eugenio Matos
Baseball Canada
The Junior National Team rallied late but settled for a 7-7 tie against the Cincinnati Reds DSL squad.
On the mound, Mathis McKenna (Rigaud, Que.) started for the Juniors and battled through some early trouble to allow just one run in two innings.
Walker Kokotailo (Surrey, BC) relieved McKenna and bounced back from a four-run third to provide the Juniors with six important outs that kept the game close in the middle innings.
Philip Cheong (Richmond Hill, Ont.) sparked the offence in the fourth, reaching base after being hit by a pitch and later scoring on a sacrifice fly from Elliot Lascelles (Toronto, Ont.). The Juniors chipped away with another run in the fifth courtesy of a Jordan Jacob (Maple, Ont.) RBI single to make it 5-2.
Easton Kitura (Spruce Grove, Alta.) and Félix Gosselin (Drummondville, Que.) added RBI singles in the seventh and eighth innings, putting the Juniors within striking distance heading into the last inning.
Left-hander Jerôme Lucas (Montreal, Que.) held the Reds hitless, permitting only a pair of walks and striking out three over his two innings of work late in the game.
After the Reds added a run in their half of the eighth, the Canadians answered back with three runs in the ninth capped by a bases loaded walk to Finn Hoeschen (North Vancouver, BC) that gave the Juniors a 7-6 lead.
Austin Blair (Victoria, BC) showed composure in the late innings, stranding the winning run at third base to secure the first tie of the Dominican Professional Academy Tour for the Juniors.
Canada’s bats combined for eight hits, including multi-hit games from Kitura who finished his day 2-for-2 with a run scored and a run driven in and Tim Piasentin (Coquitlam, BC) who collected three hits in four at bats and scored a pair of runs.
With the tie, the Junior National Team finished the Dominican Professional Academy Tour with a 5-3-1 record.
The Juniors will now head back to Canadian soil and soon reconvene for the MLB Draft League which is set to take place from June 9-15.