McFarland: Murdoch to learn from challenges in first D1 season at Marshall
McFarland: Murdoch to learn from challenges in first D1 season at Marshall

“A first love, a first kiss or, in the case of Ethan Murdoch, a first NCAA Division I hit with the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Leading off the bottom of the second inning in a game against Morehead State on April 16, the Swift Current native rocketed the first pitch he saw from Ethan Davis for a no-doubt home run to open up the scoring.

It came as a massive relief for Murdoch, who was making his third start for the team and had gone hitless in his first 13 plate appearances.

“I went up there leading off the inning, really just trying to be aggressive and get on any fastball in the zone and he just happened to basically throw it middle-middle and I just reacted,” he told Saskatchewan Dugout Stories.”

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Canadians in CollegeJoe McFarland
Gagne to throw first pitch for Dodgers on July 3 to commemorate saves record
Gagne to throw first pitch for Dodgers on July 3 to commemorate saves record

Former Los Angeles Dodgers closer and 2003 National League Cy Young award winner Eric Gagné (Mascouche, Que.) will throw out the honorary first pitch prior to the Dodgers’ matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, July 3 at 7:10 p.m. The date marks the 20th anniversary of Gagné recording his 84th consecutive save, which still stands as the longest consecutive save streak in Major League history.

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Canadians in the Majors, Major Leagues (MLB)CBN Staff
Kennedy: Aparicio Hall of Fame's oldest living member after Mays' death
Kennedy: Aparicio Hall of Fame's oldest living member after Mays' death

Canadian Baseball Network contributor Patrick Kennedy writes about legendary Chicago White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio now being the Hall of Fame’s oldest living member (OLM) after Willie Mays’ death on June 18.

Being the “OLM” is a “strange accolade,” Kennedy writes, “one that’s earned simply by waking up each morning and, as the Irish like to say, “looking down at the grass and not up at the roots.”

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Major Leagues (MLB)Patrick Kennedy
Mark Whicker: Numbers indicate finding “Next Willie Mays” will be difficult
Mark Whicker: Numbers indicate finding “Next Willie Mays” will be difficult

“For those of a certain age, the death of Willie Mays was a ride in the Wayback Machine. America knew him through black-and-white film clips, since major league baseball was rarely televised nationally, and through the power of oral history. People were transfixed by the catch he made in the 1954 World Series, off Vic Wertz in the Polo Grounds. They were stunned, and thrilled, to learn that Mays thought other catches were better. Through such limited visibility, people came to think that Mays brought a bag of thrills every time he came to the ballpark.”

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Major Leagues (MLB)Mark Whicker
Selection Camp invitees announced for Americas U-18 Baseball World Cup Qualifier
Selection Camp invitees announced for Americas U-18 Baseball World Cup Qualifier

Baseball Canada has announced the names of the 27 athletes that have been invited to the Junior National Team’s (U-18) Selection Camp set to take place at USA Baseball’s National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina from July 24 to July 30. Following camp, 20 athletes will be selected to represent Canada at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Americas U-18 Baseball World Cup Qualifier in Panama City, Panama from August 2 to August 11.

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Baseball CanadaAdam Morissette
McFarland: Canadian Futures Showcase HR derby champ Flewelling impresses at MLB Draft Combine
McFarland: Canadian Futures Showcase HR derby champ Flewelling impresses at MLB Draft Combine

“When Nathan Flewelling squared up a Riley Burton pitch on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Gulls Field in Sylvan Lake, everyone in the crowd knew the baseball wasn’t coming back.

The three-run seventh inning home run to deep right field tied the game against the Lethbridge Bulls, which the Gulls would later go onto win 7-6.

It was a big moment for the team, and for the Innisfail native who hit his first Western Canadian Baseball League home run with family in the stands.”

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Alberta Dugout StoriesJoe McFarland