ON THE SANDLOTS

Thursday, November 14, 2002

ON THE SANDLOTS

Loewen at school, Team Canada wrap, Birtle Jays win, Manitoba Stars, Elder 5th in PIL race

STATS

By BOB ELLIOTT
For SLAM! Canadian Baseball

First it was one player.

Then it was a couple of more and the requests continued to grow.

For cool teenagers this was a rare of show of admiration. Players from Korea, Italy, Panama and other countries asked to have their picture taken with Team Canada first baseman Adam Loewen (Surrey, B.C.) at the World Youth championships in Sherbrooke, Que. this summer.

The other players had heard that scouts had tabbed Loewen as the fourth-best player in all of North America and even more important they had seen him play. Hence the hero worship.

Loewen helped Canada finish fourth in August, as they were ousted by Team USA in the bronze-medal game.

The Baltimore Orioles and Loewen's representatives were unable to come to terms on a signing bonus. Rather than accept a scholarship to Arizona, which would have kept him from turning pro until 2006, Loewen decided to attend Chipola Junior College in Mariana, Fla.

When the close period for draft-and-follow players ends, 10 days before the June 2003 draft, Loewen will have some options. He can either sign with the Orioles or go back into the draft, although it will be tough to improve on his No. 4 rating.

Drafted as a pitcher, the left-hander's fastball was recently clocked at 96 miler per hour. With Team Canada he was strictly a hitter.

"Adam Loewen swung the bat for us the way John Olerud does," Team Canada coach Greg Hamilton said, "if he hadn't been as a pitcher, he would have been selected as a hitter."

Loewen hit .542 seeing as many hittable pitches as San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds saw in the World Series. He was walked 16 times and hit with a pitch once, leaving him with a .707 on-base percentage.

"He seldom saw a pitch to hit," Hamilton said, "they pitched around him all the time. He walked more often than anyone in the tournament. Few times pitched to him.

"I've never seen a kid with his ability to elevate his game like Adam Loewen. Cuba had a guy throwing 92 miles per hour and they put Adam on base intentionally even though he was tying run. Teams would throw him sliders with the count 3-0."

While Loewen's people and the Orioles were negotiating a signing bonus between $2 million US and $4 million, the high-schooler played on for Team Canada.

"How many kids would risk what he risked?" Hamilton asked, "he was diving back into first on pick-off throws. A lot of kids in his situation would have been walking on egg shells."

Loewen had three doubles, a triple and a homer for an .875 slugging percentage.

In Canada's 30 games Loewen played in 29 and shared the team RBI-lead with shortstop Shawn Bowman (Coquitlam, B.C.) with 25 each. Loewen led the team with a .422 average with eight homers, a triple and five homers. His on-base percentage was .592 while he slugged .723.

In Sherbrooke, Hamilton's Canadian squad:

Beat The Netherlands 12-2 behind 12 strikeouts by David Davidson (Thorold, Ont.) and two homers Bowman, who led the way with six homers.

Beat Panama 22-11 as DH Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) and Bowman each homered, while outfielders Tyler Williams (Delta, B.C.) and Loewen had four hits apiece in support of reliever James Avery (Moose Jaw, Sask.).

Beat Cuba 4-3 with four runs in the ninth as third baseman Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ont.) and Steve Bell-Irving (Burnaby, B.C.) each singled and advanced an outfield error to put runners at second and third. Catcher Chris Leroux (Mississauga, Ont.) was hit by pitch to load the bases. A passed ball cut Cuba's lead to 3-1. Tyler Williams (Delta B.C.) walked to load the bases with two out and first baseman Eric Wolfe (Willowdale, Ont.) lined a triple to left-centre field to give Canada its first lead. Lefty Matt Tosoni (Whitby, Ont.) pitched eight innings allowing two earned runs and picked three Cuban runners off first. Reliever Karl Mejlholm (Nanaimo, B.C.) worked the bottom of the ninth for the save.

Beat Italy 18-2 with Jonathan Forest (St-Hubert, Que.) on the mound. Forest kept his team unbeaten, allowing only two runs, on four hits and four walks while striking two. Right-hander Rob Bland (North Bay, Ont.) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. Shortstop Arman Sidhu (Mississauga, Ont.) went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, while Loewen went 3-for-3 with two walks and three RBIs.

Lost 19-14 to Chinese-Taipei to conclude round-robin play with a 4-1 record. Robinson doubled, homered and drove in three runs, while Leroux doubled to to score two runs. Bowman had three hits and an RBI and Williams had three hits and two RBIs.

Beat Venezuela 17-6 in a quarter-final match as Davidson won for the second time, fanning 17. The outing gave Davidson 33 strikeouts in 15 innings. Wolfe hit a solo shot while Williams had four hits and a pair of RBIs, and Chris Emanuele (Mississauga, Ont.) went 3-for-3, driving in three runs. Bowman had two hits and four RBIs.

Lost 8-5 to Cuba in the semi-final game, as Bell-Irving went 3-for-3 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving three runs. "I look back at the Cuban game and I don't think we gave it to them, we didn't boot it," Hamilton said, "they won."

Lost 12-3 to Team USA as the Yanks scored 10 times in the eighth. Cuba won the gold, defeating Taiwan 6-4. Leroux doubled home Canada's first run and Loewen singled to put Canada ahead 3-2.

So, Canada placed a respectable fourth in the 12-nation competition.

"I don't think we exceeded expectations," Hamilton said recently, "when you look at those final four teams anyone could have beaten any team. We had a mature team that wasn't overwhelmed.

Highlights of the Team Canada 30-game summer included a warm-up tour in which they beat Team USA and right-hander Chad Billingsley (Defiance, Ohio) in Oakville 6-3. Billingsley is 13th-ranked by the highly-respected Baseball America, heading into the 2003 draft. Jason Gotwalt (Mississauga, Ont.) and Bowman hit home runs.

Team Canada beat Team USA 9-0 in Thunder Bay behind a four-hit shutout by Ryan McGovern (Abbotsford, BC).

"Team USA had more pitching than we did, but position to position, we were as good," Hamilton said. "It's tough to match arm for arm with the United States. I look at it and say sincerely that the development and coaching in this country is excellent.

"We are able identify players a year in advance and we have a group that's ready to move on either to college or professionally."

Bowman, a natural third baseman, had a great tournament, reminding scouts of Jeff Conine, of the Orioles. Drafted in the 12th round by the New York Mets, he signed for a $120,000 bonus.

Besides, Loewen and Bowman 10 others, who were drafted in June:

Catcher Chris Leroux (Mississauga, Ont.), selected in the ninth rough by Tampa Bay, who chose to attend Winthrop University.

Lefty David Davidson (Thorold, Ont.), chosen in the 10th round, who signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Lefty Aric Van Gaalen (Edmonton, Alta.), chosen in the 16th round by the Blue Jays.

Right-hander Scott Mathieson (Aldergrove, B.C.), who was drafted in the 17th round by the Philadelphia Phillies. Mathieson won player of the week honors at the Phillies instructional league in Clearwater, Fla., where he allowed one run in 23 innings. Mathieson's fastball has been clocked at 93 miles per hour, but what saw him stock rise this fall was developing a changeup with the help of Phillies vice-president and pitching guru Dallas Green and Jim Fregosi, Jr.

Lefty Ryan McGovern (Abbotsford, B.C.) was chosen in the 27th round by the San Francisco Giants.

Right-hander James Avery (Moose Jaw, Sask.) was selected in the 29th round, by the Minnesota Twins.

Catcher Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ont.), who played third for Team Canada, went in the 30th to the Mets.

Shortstop Jonathan Malo (Laval, Que.) was grabbed in the 40th round by the Mets.

First baseman Eric Wolfe (Willowdale, Ont.) went in the same round to the Dodgers.

Outfielder Adam Pernasilici (Tecumseh, Ont.) was selected in the 43rd round by the Seattle Mariners.

THESE JAYS WON: Right-hander Matt Mutcheson (Morden, Man.) won his fifth playoff game as the Birtle Blue Jays beat the Brandon Cloverleafs 10-2 before 400 fans in Birtle to win the best-of-seven Manitoba Senior Baseball League championship 4-2.

Mutcheson, named the Jays playoff MVP, struck out 13 in a nine-inning, complete-game effort to win the 42nd annual championship. It was the third title for Birtle since they joined the league in 1998. Losing pitcher Tom Klapp (Elkford, BC) was named the Cloverleafs MVP.

Mutcheson was delivered to the game by a couple of Birtle volunteers, who drove 15 hours round-trip to pick up the pitcher from Valley City State College in Valley City, N.D.

Mike Foster (Winnipeg, Man.) had four hits, including a double, and drove in three runs for the Jays, who also won in 1998 and 2000. The Jays are also provincial champions and are eligible to represent Manitoba at the Canadian Senior Baseball Championship in 2003 at Windsor, Ont.

Mutcheson was 12-2 over the course of the season and playoffs striking out 128 batters in 90-plus innings. He went 5-1 with 41 strikeouts in the playoffs and had a 1.60 run average. He hit .346.

The league's regular-season MVP, Mutcheson, earned the honor over Brandon Marlins shortstop Reed Eastley (Brandon, Man.) and Baldur Regals catcher Darrick Jones (Baldur, Man.).

Winners of other awards, voted on by league representatives, were Gord Dearsley of the Baldur Regals as manager of the year, Baron Bradley of the Neepawa Farmers, as the Manitoba-bred rookie of the year, Garth White of the Neepawa Farmers, the Ab Richardson award for dedication and Cindy Tibbett of Neepawa, the Dick Campbell award for outstanding volunteer.

Tyler Wilson pitched six strong innings to win Game 5 for a 12-4 win over Brandon at Westbran Stadium. A.J. Mock had three singles and drove in three runs for the Jays, while Mark Wakely went 3-for-4 with a double and two singles and scored three runs.

The Manitoba all-star teams:

First team

Catcher: Darrick Jones, Baldur.

Pitchers: Tom Klapp, Brandon; Justin Norwood, Birtle, Clark Andres, Brandon.

First Base: Blaine Fortin, Baldur.

Second Base: Craig Anderson, Marlins.

Third Base: Jamie Waddell-Hodgson, Brandon.

Shortstop: Reed Eastley, Marlins.

Outfield: Scott Hlady, Marlins; Dean McBride, Brandon; Mike Foster, Birtle.

Utility: Matt Mutcheson, Birtle; Corey Billaney, Neepawa; Brent Kyle, Marlins.

Manager: Neil Andrews, Marlins.

Coach: Ryan Potter, Brandon.

And the second team:

Catcher: Bryan Swaenepoel, Brandon.

Pitchers: Craig Moffatt, Marlins; Dwayne Wandy, Neepawa; Brent Unrau, Baldur.

First Base: Cory Hilhorst, Killarney.

Second Base: Bryan White, Neepawa.

Third Base: Mitch Stephens, Marlins.

Shortstop: Jason Schwabe, Baldur.

Outfield: Kyle Martel, Oak River; Ryan Boguski, Marlins; Chris McKague, Oak River.

Utility: Baron Bradley, Neepawa; Marlow Knight, Killarney; Terry Isaak, Brandon.

Manager: Gord Dearsley, Baldur.

Coach: Mark Wakely, Birtle.

SOME BELL: Catcher Jake Elder (North Delta, B.C.), of Bellingham Bells, finished fifth in the Pacific International League batting race with a .379 mark. Elder had six doubles, a triple and six RBIs.

Elder also caught Jeff Francis (North Delta, B.C.) in his final amateur game as he pitched six scoreless in a 2-0 win against the Wenatchee AppleSox. It was the final start for Francis before the June amateur draft. Francis was selected ninth over-all by the Colorado Rockies.

Catcher B.J. Grenda (Winfield, B.C.) of the Kelowna Falcons, finished 11th in hitting. Grenda batted .339 with 11 doubles, three homers and a league-high 26 RBIs.

Right-hander Brooks McNiven (Vernon, B.C) of Kelowna had the seventh-best earned run average. He had a 1.88 mark in seven games, going 4-3, striking out 42 in 48 innings. McNevin also won Player of the Week honors.

With Bellingham, Emerson Frostad (Calgary, Alta.) hit .276 with six doubles, a triple, two homers and 19 RBIs.

The Seattle Studs opened the PIL tourney with a 6-5 loss to Everett, then beat Wenatchee 9-1, Everett 6-5 and Bellingham twice by the scores of 7-5 and 12-6 to capture the PIL crown and a berth in the 2002 NBC World Series.

GOOD FINISHES: The Team Ontario 16s started quickly at the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series.

A 3-0 start ... the way most weekends start for the Ontario 16s.

However, the Maryland Orioles rallied from a 5-4 deficit with the decisive run in the bottom of the seventh in the NABF semi-final at Northville, Mich.

Randy Schwartz (Kleinburg, Ont.) and Kevin Mailloux (Tecumseh, Ont.) each homered while Tom Boleska doubled twice, as the Indiana Bulls rallied to score four times in the final at-bat for a 7-6 win, eliminating the 16s in five games.

Dan Zehr (Guelph, Ont.) pitched a complete-game victory as the 16s beat the Michigan Rams 12-1.

Chris Cullen (Tecumseh, Ont.) and Arron Biggs (Brantford, Ont.) combined for the mound win, 7-3 over the host Northville Broncos. Schwartz had a pair of doubles, while Joel Collins (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Dane Wolfe (Willowdale, Ont.) each had two hits apiece.

Jeff Cowan (Scarborough, Ont.) tripled and Collins had a pair of hits in the opener, a 7-1 romp over the Bayside Yankees.

The 16s, coach by Danny Thompson, finished the 2002 season 49 games over .500.

BETTER FINISHES: The Ontario Blue Jays 17s captured the bronze medal at the USSSA World Series in Bourbonnais Ill. The Jays out-scored their opponents 59-20 in eight games. Chad Cameron (Etobicoke, Ont.) led starting pitchers by allowing one earned run while striking out 23 in 12 innings of work. Offensively, players batting over .400 included: Brad Pitz (Mississauga, Ont.), who hit .556, Chris Hanes, .500, Jon Baksh (Mississauga, Ont., .462 and Ryan Shannon (Burlington, Ont.), .423.

The Jays took the bronze leaving the Lawrence Renegades and Team Connecticut to fight it out for the gold.

WINNERS: Eastern Ontario won the annual Cannon Cup in Oakville, led by Brad Wild (Peterborough, Ont.), Todd Vanlaere (Port Hope, Ont.), outfielder Adam Sylvestre (Whitby, Ont.) and Mike Dahiroc (Ajax, Ont.).

Wild was the team's top pitcher pitching a game in the round robin and then the final, recording 21 strikeouts in his 12 innings.

Vanlaere was perfect as the closer picking up three saves. Sylvestre was solid in centre and laid down a number of bunt singles. Second baseman Dahiroc was outstanding throughout the tournament in the field.

Meanwhile, the York-Simcoe Thunder won the Willis Cup in Mississauga. The Thunder went 3-1 in round-robin play with victories over Montreal, Sun Parlor, Central Ontario while losing to Hamilton 3-0 in extra innings.

In the semi-finals the Thunder, led by the pitching of Jeff McCormick (Collingwood, Ont.) beat Niagara 6-2. The final featured a rematch of the Ontario Summer Games semi-final with the Thunder facing Toronto. With Toronto taking an early 1-0 lead the Thunder came back to score four runs on the way to a 4-2 victory. Brandon Norrie (Stayner, Ont.) pitched a complete game for the win.

TITLE: Gavin Rajiva pitched a three-hit complete game as the Erindale Cardinals beat Ajax 10-1 to win the Ontario senior A title in Woodslee, Ont.

In the final game, Rob (Zo) Scicluna and Steve Gallant knocked out three hits apiece to pace the Cardinal offence while Matt Fenwick counted a pair of RBIs, avenging an earlier loss to Ajax.

In the semi-final, the undefeated Cardinals lost to Ajax, 3-2, in extra innings. Outstanding pitching performances by Dan Gardiner and Tim Gasperrato kept Erindale in the game.

The Cardinals beat Markham 7-2 in the opener as Carson Shirley tossed a complete game six-hitter. Chris Dubnyk and Adam Petruk delivered two RBIs each.

Then Erindale beat East York 10-2 behind the complete game, seven-hit pitching of Ian Bala. Brent Bunting drove in three runs and Len Elias crossed the plate three times.

Next, the Cardinals blanked Burlington, 6-0, with pitcher Steve Gallant tossing a two-hit shutout. Anthony Aversa drove in three runs to pace the attack and John McEwan had two hits.

YOU'RE IN OUR PLAYGROUND NOW: The Maple Leafs weren't the only team playing out of Christie Pitts to dominate this summer. The Toronto Playgrounds had a 14-1-3 record. Right-handers Colin Pridmore and Greg Aishford allowed only 33 runs after 13 games, as Pridmore pitched a perfect game in a recent 11-0 win over of Birchmount. Centre fielder Jesse Shreve, third baseman Len Sergnese and shortstop Jeremiah Groulx, all own .500-plus batting averages. Hitting .500 is impressive, but these hitters are making the move from aluminium to wood bats.

THUNDERING HERD: Since their inception in 1996, the Canadian Thunderbirds have seen a number of players who wore their jerseys go on to the college ranks and the pros:

Left-hander Mark Ferguson, Spartanburg Methodist; right-hander Andrew Punt, Des Moines Area Community College; RHP Tyler Hosick, Canisius College; infielder Bobby Chappelle, Cerro Coso Jr. College; catcher Matt Van Geene, Canisius.

INF Drew Stasila, Northeast Oklahoma; RHP Rob Robinson, Cerro Coso; C Jay Sidell, Macomb Community College; OF Ishmael Cox, Canisius; C Chad McKeller, Cerro Coso.

INF Tim Hinchcliffe, Glen Oaks College; 3B Andrew Palmer, Spartanburg Methodist; SS Rowan Lam, Canisius; OF Harpreet Padda, Montreat College; RHP Ryan Leaist, Montreat.

RHP Mike Fleming Itawamba College; RHP Elliot Love (no relation), Nyack College; RHP Andrew Brown, Dartmouth College; LHP Brad Bissel, Charleston Southern; RHP Aaron Russell, Cerro Coso.

RHP Mark Schmidt, Winthrop University; C Phil Schantz, Spartanburg Methodist; RHP Rob Vecchiarelli, New York Tech; OF Mike Visca, Spartanburg Methodist; OF Jermiah Siemens, Montreat.

RHP Mike Benyo, Missouri Valley; RHP Andrew Karkoulis, New York Tech; LHP Kevin Tierney, New York Tech; LHP Rylan Pranger, Niagara; OF Shawn Benay, Tusculum College.

RHP Nino Fasulo, Charleston Southern; OF Glen Jackson, Barton County College; C Jordan Lundberg, Niagara; RHP Jon Harbridge, University of Louisville; C Adam Montgomery, Canisius.

INF Ian Kowalchuk, South Carolina-Aiken; INF Tyler Hughes, British Columbia; OF Richard Smythe, UBC; OF Darryl Pui, South Carolina-Aiken; RHP Kyle Nicoletta, Niagara; C Rollin Matsui, Missouri Valley.

RHP Jordan Neufeld, Canisius; INF Derek Gordon, South Carolina-Aiken; C-3B Joey Votto, Cinncinati Reds; and INF Justin Wendt, New York Mets.