Month: April 2009

Vauxhall Academy win Provincial Award!

Vauxhall, AB –

 

Congratulations to the participating members of the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball for their recent Provincial Recognition award.

Over the past two school years members of the VAB have volunteered their time to put together and present information on the harmful effects of chewing tobacco. Our VAB athletes with the help of former student Kara Unruh and current students Brittany Toltan and Daryl Kress have received the Barb Tarbox Award of Excellence in Tobacco Reduction – Youth Recognition category with Kara Unruh winning the Barb Tarbox Youth Scholarship Award.

These awards will be presented on May 28 in Edmonton during the World No Tobacco Day – 2009 Provincial Celebration.

 

Jets blow a 2-0 lead to loose to PBA!

Vauxhall, AB

The Vauxhall Academy began its home game schedule tonight in Vauxhall against the Prairie Baseball Academy.  The game was 2-0 going into the top of the 7th inning when the defense fell apart committing 4 errors giving the PBA 5 unearned runs and the victory.  Jordan Wong started on the mound throwing a very solid 5 innings allowing 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 BB’s with 7 K’s.  Victor Caruso took the loss going 1 1/3 inning allowing 1 hit, 5 unearned runs, 2 BB’s and 1 K.  Kym Barthel threw the final 2/3 of an inning with a K.

Offensively, the Jets only mustered a couple hits.  Daniel Worb was 1 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI’s.  Brandt Hittel also added a base hit.

The loss puts the Jets record to 12-6-2 overall.  Next action is a 3 team mini tournament in Vauxhall vs the St. Albert Cardinals and the Edmonton Cardinals.

On the road with the Jets – Day 9!

Douglas, Nevada 2 vs. Vauxhall Academy 0

Today’s third place game again ended with disappointment once again. The  scorching 27 degree heat combined with a discouraged ballclub and an underlying tired atmosphere in the dugout paved the way for Douglas – from Reno, Nevada – to win third place in the Bishop Gorman Easter Classic. The loss ended a once promising run at the championship and completed our game schedule for the road trip. Pitchers Brandon Petite, Tyson Denham, and Jamin Heller combined to pitch well only allowing 2 runs on 2 hits but a few untimely errors and a weak bloop single cost us two runs we couldn’t muster up offensively. We only put together two hits for the ballgame as the Douglas pitcher consistently baffled our hitters with a sneaky fastball and sharp slider. Our record for the road trip altogether was 5-4. We now head back on the bus tonight and stop over in Pocatello, Idaho before finishing the trip home tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed the daily updates I have put together. In all likelihood I will continue with these updates on gamedays for the remainder of the spring schedule.

-AC

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On the road with the Jets – Day 8!

Newbury Park, CA 10 vs. Vauxhall Academy 3
 
Today’s semifinal matchup ended in disappointment for the Jets. All in all a lacking effort cost us our shot at a championship showdown with sought after hosts Bishop Gorman. From the first inning on it seemed as if very little could go right for us whether on the mound, in the field or at the plate. Newbury went up quickly in the first inning scoring two runs but a towering home run by Jean-Guy Bilodeau in the bottom of the first tied the game at two. Newbury tacked on another in the top of the second to make it 3-2 and from their they never surrendered the lead. The final was 10-3. Starter Taylor Simmonds scrapped his way through over three innings and was relieved by Cole Stober who didn’t experience anymore success then Simmonds. Our offense missed key opportunities to cash in runs with runners in scoring positions whereas Newbury did. The lone bright spots for us on this disappointing night were Shane Zimmer’s efforts at the plate as he scorched three hits, Bilodeau’s gigantic home run, and Josh Stephenson’s 2-3 effort at the plate with his only out coming on a diving play on a lineout to leftfield. Stephenson also played well defensively blocking everything that came his way and battling through injury. Tomorrow we play at 11:00 AM in the third place game against Douglas from Reno, Nevada. From there we will board the bus and drive all afternoon and into the night to Pocatello, Idaho where we’ll spend the night before finishing our return to Vauxhall on Sunday.
 
-AC

On the Road with the Jets – Day 7 with Game Recaps!

Vauxhall Academy 21 vs. South Tahoe, CA 0
 
Today’s game was the second largest victory in Academy history. We took care of South Tahoe, California in dominant fashion scoring early and often en route to a 21-0 victory. Game time was 8:00 AM and much like yesterday the weather was cool at about 5 degrees with a cool breeze blowing in from left field all game. We scored two in the first and another in the second but really broke it open in the third with twelve runs on seven hits and five walks and a couple Tahoe errors. We scored the remainder of our runs in the fourth inning and that was the ballgame. The game ended after 5 innings due to a mercy rule. Starter Jordan Wong pitched three innings and was followed by two perfect innings from Daniel Worb. They combined on a no-hitter for the ballgame. For more information on the ballgame refer to the statistics below.
 
The win puts us at 2-0 for the tournament and sets us up for a winner takes first place game tonight against Damonte Ranch out of Reno, Nevada at 6:00 PM at College of Southern Nevada’s field. Damonte Ranch is also 2-0 so far in pool play. With a win, we’ll advance to the semi-finals. Check back tonight for an update on how we fared in our game against Damonte Ranch.
 
HITTERS: Kym Barthel 2-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI; Tyler Hayes 2-5, 3 RBI; Adam Nelubowich 3-5, 2 RBI; Jean-Guy Bilodeau 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Mike Washburn 2-4, HBP; Josh Stephenson 1-3, 2 RBI; Taylor Simmonds 1-2, RBI; Tyson Denham 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, RBI; Brant Hittel 0-1, 4 BB, 2 RBI; Matt Clark 1-4, 3 RBI. PITCHERS: Jordan Wong 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 7 BB, 5 K; Daniel Worb 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.

auxhall Academy 8 vs. Damonte Ranch 4
 
Today’s game ranks as one of the most exciting in the Academy’s three year history. The game was filled with important at bats, clutch pitching in tight spots, and an Academy team eager to get its shot at the tournament hosts. The game was played at the beautiful College of Southern Nevada with the sun glimmering on the horizon over the third base line to start the game. Conditions were ideal with gametime temperature at 19 degrees and a light wind blowing in from centerfield. We jumped all over Damonte Ranch in the first inning scoring four runs with the kicker being a Shane Zimmer three-run home run deep to the left center field gap. With the game at 5-1 in the bottom of the third, the Damonte Ranch team (from Reno, Nevada) fought back with three runs of their own to bring the game to a 5-4 duel. These runs only motivated our Jets offense to punch back just as hard scoring three of our own courtesy of Shane Zimmer again, hitting a two run double. From there our pitching took over. Starter Tyler Vavra settled in nicely and clutched up exactly when we needed to throwing a big scoreless inning in the fourth when we needed to and then handing the game over to Victor Caruso who got all his outs via the strikeout in his 1 2/3 inning of work. For further statistics scroll down.
 
This win places us first place in our pool and sets us up for a semifinal match up tomorrow against Newbury Park from California. The game will take place at 8:00 PM at Hadland Park. The other semifinal features host team Bishop Gorman against Douglas, Nevada taking place at 5:00 PM also at Hadland Park. 
 
Also, we lost three players today to Team Canada Spring Training in Florida. 3B/OF Adam Nelubowich, 3B/1B Mike Washburn, and RHP Steven Inch all are trying out for a chance to be named to the Canadian Junior National Team. Good luck guys!
 
HITTERS: Daniel Worb 2-4, BB; Tyler Hayes 2-4, BB; Shane Zimmer 2-4, 2B, HR, 6 RBI; Jean-Guy Bilodeau 1-4; Austin Cooper 1-4; Josh Stephenson 0-1, 3 BB; 2-4, RBI; Tyson Denham 1-4; Kym Barthel 1-3, HBP. PITCHERS: Tyler Vavra 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Victor Caruso 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.

On the road with the Jets – Day 6 with Game Recap!

Vauxhall Academy 14 vs. Irvine, California 6
 
We opened the Bishop Gorman Tournament today with a 14-6 victory over opposing Irvine out of California. The game wasn’t pretty and we had to fight through many obstacles, mainly ourselves. We came out of the gate passive and defensive and nothing could spark us. The weather wasn’t great either as gametime temperature was 6 degrees Celcius with cool, breezy winds. However the weather probably played into our favor better then that of the boys from the Sunshine State.
 
In the top of the first, Irvine jumped ahead with a two run home run. However, we answered in the bottom half with two runs of our own sparked by doubles courtesy of roommates Adam Nelubowich and Shane Zimmer. The game carried on at a dull pace with Irvine going ahead 3-2 in the top of the fourth inning. We scored three of our own in bottom of the fifth again at the lead of Nelubowich and Zimmer, with Josh Stephenson adding an RBI double. We finally came to life in the bottom of the sixth and broke the game wide open with 9 runs on 5 hits but also 4 walks and an Irvine error. The game ended with one out in the bottom of the sixth due to a tournament time limit rule. Our pitchers battled throughout the game with their command but the offense picked them up and allowed us to win the game. It was ugly and not one our best games but we have a chance to rebound tomorrow against South Tahoe, California tomorrow at 8:00 AM at Hadland Park in Las Vegas. We also have a second game tomorrow night at 6:00 PM against Damonte Ranch, Nevada.
 
I’ve heard numerous requests for more statistics to be included in my entries so here is my best shot at giving you what you’re looking for. HITTERS: Daniel Worb 1-5, 2 RBI; Tyler Hayes 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Adam Nelubowich 3-5, 2 2B, 3B; Jean-Guy Bilodeau 0-2, 2 BB; Shane Zimmer 2-3, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Josh Stephenson 2-2, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Matt Clark 1-3, RBI; Mike Washburn 0-1, RBI; Brant Hittel 2-2, 2 BB, RBI; Kym Barthel 2-3, RBI. PITCHERS: Steven Inch 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; Brandon Petite 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.

On the road with the Jets – Day 5!

First of all one note I forgot to add in my last entry:
I’d like to thank all the fans – parents, billets, friends, staff, etc. – that have came out already to support the Jets. We’ve seen great turnouts at our first two games and look forward to much of the same throughout the tournament. All the guys appreciate it big time. Special thanks to Dean Portz for providing the fans and players an interesting (and sometimes colorful) commentary on how well the umpires were calling the game, as well as the infinite supportive comments he spewed throughout the night. Thanks Dean!
 
Today was an off day for the Jets and one that brought upon an interesting visit to one of the World’s Wonders, a lot of spending, and a lot of wind. The weather today in Vegas wasn’t too sparkling as 20 degree temperatures with cloud cover were unsatisfactory and wind gusts throughout the afternoon along with scattered showers kept the sun and heat at bay for today. We got up for a 9 AM trip to the Hoover Dam 45 minutes south of Las Vegas on the Nevada-Arizona border and it was a good experience. Many players were amazed at the size of the Dam and so it was more of an experience then many players expected. From there we headed to a Las Vegas Outlet mall where we shopped until 2 PM; it was only supposed to be until 1:45 but Mrs. Mossey managed to get lost so Coach Mac and Coach K had to go hunt her down. After that many guys left with their parents to do further shopping or enjoy supper with them. All in all it was a day off that was needed for the Jets as we have a very tough schedule planned for the tournament. Curfew was at 9:30 PM tonight because of our early wake up call which will be required to make our first game of the tournament: a 9 AM contest against Irvine out of California which will be played at the College of Southern Nevada Field. Check back tomorrow afternoon for details on the game.
 
-AC