As the Pan Am Qualifier Tournament wraps up later today, a 3-1 record for Team Canada was unfortunately not enough for the squad to make the finals and the nation will not be representing later this year at the Pan Am Games, hosted by Chile.
In their final contest, Canada bested Honduras 10-0 in a five-inning affair that invoked the mercy rule, with the club scoring eight runs alone in the fourth inning.
Right fielder Jake Sanford led the way with three RBIs while Michael Crouse added two more to go along with solo tallies for Jacob Procyshen and former Blue Jays prospect Connor Panas. Crouse hit the only home run of the game while the Canadian squad also generated seven walks on the day and with Honduras committing three fielding errors, the Canucks were able to put up a comfortable lead for the pitching staff.
Canada Posts a 3-1 Record but Unable to Advance to Pan Am Games
Taking the mound was Winnipeg Goldeyes starter Travis Seabrooke, who went all five innings and allowed just two hits compared to five strikeouts and zero walks on the day. The former Baltimore Orioles prospect threw 53 pitches with a 75.5% strike rate against Honduras, his only appearance of the tournament.
Although Canada finished with a 3-1 record, the club fell to third place based on the three-team tiebreaker rules, known as the Team’s Quality Balance. This metric is developed via the following formula: Runs / Innings played at bat-runs allowed/innings played on defence.
Host Argentina and Panama both finished with similar 3-1 records but posted better TQB scores, finishing first and second respectively and will play in the finals later today. Had Argentina bested Panama in their game yesterday, Canada would have finished in second place and would have played in the finals against the host country for a spot in the Pan Am Games. The only way Canada could technically qualify is via the best-ranked team remaining within the WBSC rankings, however, that is unlikely to happen with numerous Caribbean nations ahead of the 13th-placed Canadians.
In the tournament, Sanford led the Canadian squad with his .500 average while Procyshen, Jacob Robson, and Matt Lloyd all finished above the .300 mark. Procyshen, Llyod, and Crouse also added a home run apiece through the four games while Sanford and Procyshen led the squad with five RBIs each. Pitching-wise, six pitchers did not allow an earned run in the tournament while Seabrooke had the cleanest sheet after his five innings, which was a tournament high for the Canadians. Each member of the pitching staff made only one appearance.
It is a disappointing end for the Canadians, as the squad finished in second place at the 2019 Pan Am Games, losing to Puerto Rico 6-1 in the finals and putting forth a 4-2 record in the tournament altogether. Canada also recently participated in the World Baseball Classic, unable to advance out of the round 1 as they put up a 2-2 record.
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