Baseball opens 2010 preseason with two victories

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University baseball team opened up their 2010 preseason with a two-game sweep over the Bullett Proof Academy 18-Under squad winning by scores of 11-1 and 6-5 at Community Park Monday night.

In Game 1, the Badgers jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after two innings. Brock newcomer Kurtis Robinson (Mississauga, Ont.) got the start on the mound throwing two shutout innings while striking out three. 

"I'm happy with the way things went tonight", said Robinson. "I've been really working on fine-tuning my slider and change-up lately. I'm looking forward to the regular season and games like this are a confidence booster". 

In relief, sophomore Noah Anderson (Mt. Pearl, NF) pitched two shutout innings. Freshman Tyler Harrison (Mississauga, Ont.) threw two innings, allowing one run with three strike outs and sophomore Dave Gardiner (Ingersoll, Ont.) closed out the seventh allowing just one hit. 

Offensively, the Badgers had solid offensive output from three of their top recruits. Newcomer Daniel Forte (Mississauga, Ont.) led the way going 1-for-2, with a double, four RBI and a run scored. Freshman Shaun Valeriote (Guelph, Ont.) began his Brock career with a 3-for-3 performance with an RBI and three runs scored. Peter Benvenuto (Mississauga, Ont.) went 1-for-1 with a stolen base and a run. 

"It's easy to hit when everyone in the lineup is making contact and putting balls in play. All of the boys played well. Tonight was a good start to the season," said newcomer Daniel Forte. 

Defensively, Badgers junior catcher Cam Graham (Sarnia, Ont.) gunned down two runners from behind the plate while Brock's infield looked smooth and confident all game long. 

Brock capitalized on early Bullett Proof mistakes, cruising to an easy 11-1 victory. 

In Game 2, Brock led 4-0 a after two innings with Valeriote, Nick Anton (Brampton, Ont.), Max Christiansen (Mississauga, Ont.), Justin Ayles and Jordan Vecchiarelli (Newmarket, Ont.) all adding singles. 

Brock starter Jason Champ (London, Ont.) defended the Badgers early lead, holding the Bullet Proof squad hitless over two innings, while striking out two in the process. The highlight of the night for Champ came when he and catcher Justin Tamane (Aurora, Ont.) completed a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play to end the second inning. 

The Badgers added to their 4-1 lead in bottom of the fourth, when Kyle Gappa (Hamilton, Ont.) added an RBI double for the Badgers' fifth run of the night. 

However, Brock wasn't able to hold onto their lead, allowing two runs in the sixth inning and another two in the seventh inning, letting Bullet Proof tie the game and force extra innings. In extras, Brock pitcher Evan DiMechele (Oakville, Ont.) held Bullett Proof scoreless in the top of the eighth and in the bottom half, freshman Chris Anderi (Tecumseh, Ont.) scored on a Bill Sloat (Woodstock, Ont.) sacrifice fly to deep right-centre field, winning Brock the game by the score of 6-5. 

Badgers Head Coach Jeff Lounsbury was happy with his team's play. "Our hitters were making solid contact all evening, being aggressive when they needed to be. There's a lot of power on this team. We paired that with strong performances from our pitchers, who bared down and got the job done. Defensively, we had a lot of good outs and smart decision making. A lot of positives came out of tonight." 

The Badgers would like to thank former Brock hitting coach Scott Bullett, the owner and head coach of the Bullett Proof Baseball Academy, and his team for partaking in the friendly exhibition game. Brock welcomes McMaster to Community Park on Tuesday, for another exhibition double-header, starting at 5:00 p.m. This will be the last game before the Badgers travel to Waterloo for the Laurier Invitational Tournament on Labour Day weekend. 

Written By: Mike Hardill (Brock Baseball)