Rompré, Cheong deliver power punch as Juniors rally to tie in late-inning thriller
Justin Rompré (Sainte-Anne-De-La-Perade, Que.) is congratulated by Nolan Weinmeyer (Sidney, BC) after he scored for the Junior National Team in their 7-7 tie with the Frederick Keys in the first game of the MLB Draft Series on Tuesday. Photo: Eugenio Matos
June 10, 2025
By Eugenio Matos
Baseball Canada
FREDERICK, Md. — Powered by timely hits from Justin Rompré (Sainte-Anne-De-La-Perade, Que.) and Philip Cheong (Richmond Hill, Ont.), the Junior National Team battled back to earn a 7–7 tie with the Frederick Keys on Tuesday in the first game of their MLB Draft League series.
Rompré opened the scoring for Canada in the fourth inning with a towering solo home run to left field, his first of the tour. That sparked a four-run frame that included doubles from Easton Kitura (Spruce Grove, Alta.) and Félix Gosselin (Drummondville, Que.), and an RBI single by Taye Thierman (Calgary, Alta.).The inning flipped a 1–0 deficit into a 4–1 lead for the JNT.
The Keys responded with five runs in the bottom half, capitalizing on two errors to surge ahead 6–4.
But Canada kept pressing. Elliot Lascelles (Toronto, Ont,) ignited a seventh inning push with a single, two stolen bases, and he scored on a wild pitch. Robert Omidi (Mississauga, Ont.) added with a sacrifice fly to bring the Juniors within one late in the game.
In the ninth, with Canada trailing 7–6, Cheong delivered a clutch solo home run to right field that evened the game.
On the mound, Sean Duncan (Port Coquitlam, BC) started for the Canadians. He struck out four and did not allow an earned run in 3 2/3 innings.
Nick Halcovitch (Waterdown, Ont.) was outstanding out of the bullpen, striking out four in three scoreless innings.