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Bradley Smith Baseball 2014
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Smith developing change, confidence

by  on March 21, 2014


Brad Smith


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* Among other things, LHP Brad Smith worked on his changeup with Team Canada pitching coach Chris Reitsma this spring. The 18-year-old is committed to UBC and eying future drafts. (Photo: Alexis Brudnicki) ….

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Alexis Brudnicki: Nolan Bumstead …. 2015 arms …. Luke Horanski …. Jean-Francois Garon …. Mike Moffatt …. Kawaski inspires Ando …. Ian Wilson …. Morgan looks to leave legacy …. Young Naylor learns …. Stevenson, Ianni commit …. Andrew Yerzy …. Zach Pop …. Royce Ando …. Ben Onyshko …. Canadian baseball family affair …. Juniors ready to go

Adam Morissette: Pirates take finale …. Soroka keeps faith …. Garon doubles vs. Tigers …. St. Pete’s JC win …. Braves win…. Juniors, Jays Celebrate Canada Day …. Robinson, Demi go deep …. Juniors kick off spring

April Whitzman: Social buzz: Juniors and Jays

Bautista has school suggestions …. Sanchez wows Jrs …. Morgan, Jrs impress Jays …. Alomar all in

Perfect Game: Morgan earns All-American honours ….  15 Canucks on Can/PR region 1st team, 23 on 2nd 

By Alexis Brudnicki

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – This year is the first one in which Brad Smith has been eligible for the draft.

But while many of his teammates, with both the North Shore Twins and the Canadian Junior National Team, are looking towards the selection process in June, the 18-year-old left-hander says his thoughts are further down the road.

“It would be very cool to get drafted,” Smith said. “However, personally I don’t think this will be my draft year. I’ve still got a lot that I need to work on. Maybe in two years it would be a possibility. I’m still working on getting drafted this year, but realistically I don’t think it’s a possibility for me at this time.”

The young pitcher believes that while he has come a long way, there is still much more he can do to improve.

“My game has progressed a lot in the sense of my control and my command,” Smith said. “Those are two big things that I really wanted to work on in the off-season, because when you’re getting up to the next levels, if you’re walking guys and they’re getting on base, a lot of them are scoring. That’s the difference between one- or two- or three-run ball games.”

It’s not often Smith runs into trouble on the mound at home. One of the top players in his program, the southpaw went 10-1 last year with a 1.11 ERA over 69 innings in the British Columbia Premier Baseball League. He walked 38, allowed just 45 hits, and struck out 75 over that span.

Taking it up a notch with the junior national squad and facing professional hitters who are older and more experienced, Smith found there was a significant learning curve.

“I’ve learned how much the game progresses as the levels get higher,” he said. “Mostly everyone here dominates their leagues back home. When you come here, you realize there are so many good ballplayers, and the game really speeds up on you.

“You really learn the value of a changeup and how that determines the outcome of a game. There are a lot of little things, like having runners on base and how to deal with them, that really come into play and make you a more complete baseball player.”

Committed to the University of British Columbia for September and hoping for a Division-I opportunity, Smith has been working hard at becoming a more complete pitcher since last season.

“The big thing for me with my growth would definitely be with my velocity and my changeup,” he said. “Those are the two things I would really like to develop.”

During the recent spring training trip to St. Petersburg with Team Canada, Smith had the chance to work with the national team’s pitching coach and former big-league hurler, Chris Reitsma. The young lefty finished the tour feeling as though he had really started to get somewhere with the development of his changeup.

“I’ve worked with Reitsma quite a bit on this trip, especially with my changeup because that is a pitch I really want to develop,” Smith said. “I’m throwing a three-finger changeup. It’s the one that he said he threw. It seems to be coming along quite well…

“I haven’t thrown it as much as I would like over the past few games. The last game I threw it a little more than previously. It worked alright.”

In addition to the work on his pitching repertoire, Team Canada’s mound coach also played a hand in helping Smith’s confidence with facing the tougher calibre of competition.

“It was very, very intimidating,” the high schooler said. “Especially on the first trip, I was really intimidated by all the pro hitters, but Reitsma was saying that they’re all human. If you’re locating your pitches and if you’re throwing where you want to throw them and executing the things that you want to execute, you’ll get them out most of the time.”

Smith was much more comfortable on the hill during his second trip with the Canadian juniors (his first trip came during the fall instructional league tour in October). Able to get past his nerves in St. Pete, the left-hander was able to concentrate more on his own improvement than focusing on the competition.

“The toughest adjustment I’ve made would definitely be dealing with runners,” Smith said. “We worked a lot in practice on holding runners in different situations, what they’re doing and what we have to look for.

“Working with the shortstop and the second baseman and getting the holds right and adjusting your timing – there are a lot of things to think about on the mound. That’s probably the biggest difficulty I’ve had.”

Despite any challenges with the elite squad, Smith says being offered a spot on Team Canada is one of the highlights of his young career so far.

“Definitely, it’s been making this team,” he said. “And the scholarship to UBC. But I still have a lot of goals I would like to accomplish and I’m still working towards those goals…

“My No. 1 goal is to eventually play in the big leagues. But step by step, I really want to make the Dominican trip [with Team Canada in May] and see how long I can stay on this team for. I’m fighting for a position every day and we’ll see how it goes.”

As Smith plays the waiting game, he’s happy to leave Florida a better player. The young hurler took in as much as he could in his short time with the national team, and was especially inspired by Hamilton’s words.

“I find [Hamilton’s speeches] quite motivational,” Smith said. “Greg is very well-spoken, that’s something I’ve noticed. He really gets his message across to the players. I think all of his messages are good, and they’re really helpful.”

- Follow Alexis Brudnicki on Twitter @baseballexis

 

 

Twins make their playoff pitch

 

Balanced squad hosts opening round series this weekend

 

BY ANDY PREST, NORTH SHORE NEWSJULY 17, 2013

 

 

 

North Shore Twins first baseman Riley MacDonald (left) gets set for a bang-bang play against the Victoria Eagles Monday night at Parkgate Park. The Twins wrapped up regular season play in the BCPBL last night and will host an opening round playoff series this weekend.

Photograph by: NEWS photo, Lisa King

THE main ingredients that helped the North Shore Twins cook up an excellent season in the B.C. Premier Baseball League were all in the mix on Monday night as the team rolled to an 8-0 win over the Victoria Eagles in their final regular season home game.

Playoff seeds were to be decided last night after North Shore News press deadline but the Twins know that they will finish in the top four and will host a best-of-three opening round playoff series this weekend at Parkgate Park.

On Monday night the Twins lost 53 to open a doubleheader against the Eagles but bounced back with a dominant performance in Game 2 that started with the man on the mound, Brad Smith. The lefty complemented his mid-80s fastball with a wicked curveball that had Victoria's batters swinging and missing all night. Smith's final line included just four hits and one walk in six innings with six strikeouts. The win was his 10th this season, tops in the league. The Vancouver native has a 1.11 earned-run average this season while striking out 75 batters in 69 inning innings en route to a 10-1 record.

"His biggest thing is he's got a plus-plus curveball," said Twins head coach Larson Bauck after the game. "His curveball, like it was tonight, it's almost un-hittable when he's on. He can throw a fastball in there at 84, 85 and then he throws that curveball, it's a tough pitch to hit. When he locates his changeup and it's around the plate, Bradley Smith is one of the best there is. . . . He got 10 wins in the Premier League. That's tough to get - 10 wins in a 48-game season."

When the Eagles did make contact the Twins demonstrated another strength - their steady defence. Infielders made all the plays asked of them and speedy outfielders covered a lot of ground, tracking down a number of well-hit balls.

The Twins aren't slouches at the plate either. In Monday's win they racked up 12 hits in six innings, led by centre-fielder Tristan Graham whose bases-loaded double in the third inning plated three runners and gave the Twins a comfortable 4-0 lead that they eventually doubled when they scored four more in the sixth. The Twins have been hot at the plate for most of the year - seven of their regulars are hitting above .300 this season, led by shortstop Anthony Cusati who is tops on the team with a .349 average, 32 runs and 28 RBIs in 42 games.

The team has put up solid offensive numbers despite losing the services of slugging third baseman Lachlan Fontaine who only appeared in 18 games before he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners and sent south to the MLB club's rookie league team.

"Lachlan is a big, strong, talented kid and he went the professional route and as the Twins organization we're happy and we're proud," said Bauck. "But every time you lose a player - even if it's in the big leagues to an injury - you've got to approach it as hey, it's another opportunity for another guy and somebody's got to step up. . . . It hurts not having Lachlan's bat in the lineup but we've got so much depth in our lineup it just comes down to playing defence."

Smith isn't a one-man show on the mound either - starters Brandon Chernoff and Clark Grisbrook didn't put up gaudy win totals like Smith did but both posted excellent stats throughout the season. Grisbrook, a power pitcher, stuck out 72 batters in 73.2 innings while posting an excellent 2.09 ERA. Chernoff, a sinker/slider pitcher, had an ERA of 1.80.

"On any given day all three of those guys can beat anybody in the league," said Bauck. "It's nice to have that high-end depth. Usually in the premier league you get a couple of guys that are pretty good, but in our situation we have three guys that are really good."

Those three starting pitchers have Bauck feeling good about the team's chances in the playoffs.

"Any time that you can run out there with top-three arms like we have it's going to give you a chance to win," he said. "The first round is always tough to get through because everybody has one or two arms that can beat you. But if you get through the first round and you have some pitching depth, like we do . . . we look really good matching up at the final four."

The Twins will know by today who they'll be facing in the opening round series. Games this weekend at North Vancouver's Parkgate Park are tentatively scheduled for noon Saturday with Game 2 to follow as the end of a doubleheader. Game 3, if necessary, will be played Sunday with a tentative start time of noon. Visit northshoretwins.com or bcpbl.com for confirmation of the Twins' playoff game times and opponent.

aprest@nsnews.com

© Copyright (c) North Shore News

 

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North Shore Twins first baseman Riley MacDonald (left) gets set for a bang-bang play against the Victoria Eagles Monday night at Parkgate Park. The Twins wrapped up regular season play in the BCPBL last night and will host an opening round playoff series this weekend.

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B.C.J.P.B.L Championship 2012

Game 4 - Jr Cannons 4 Jr Blaze 0 - LHP Bradley Smith threw a 1-hit shutout with 12 Ks against #1 seed. Finished the game despite giving up 9 walks .  The game's first run came in the 1st inning on a Landon White ground out that brought home Kyle Lee.

Cannons Sweep Twins 

Stefan Helyar and Bradley Smith both fired blanks as the Junior Cannons ended their regular reason in style, notching a pair of wins over the North Shore Twins at Parkgate. 

That set the stage for southpaw Smith, who finished the season throwing the best he has all year.  Bradley struck out eight and scattered six hits on the way to a 4-2 win in the wrap-up.  Legg struck out the last hitter on a curveball for the save. 

The Cannons picked up all their runs in the fifth when Landon White singled and Markus doubled.  At which point Legg and Creamore stepped up in the clutch when Geoffrey singled, driving in one run, and Ian came through with a knock for the game-winning RBI’s. 

 Markus and Bradley Lead Home Run Parade

It must be something about the air in Kelowna.  It invigorates hitters.  The Junior Cannons pounded out 49 hits and scored 37 runs over four games as they split their series with the Okanagan Athletics at the cozy park in Rutland. 

It started fairly slowly in game one…but then came the fourth inning and the Cannons exploded like a Super Nova, scoring 14 runs.  When the dust settled Vancouver led 20-1 after two touchdowns and a pair of field goals. 

Lefty Bradley Smith made like Babe Ruth and popped a grand slam over the right field fence and Markus Helyar, getting pitches to hit and swinging the bat the best he has all year, crushed a two-run shot over the left field wall.  Markus finished with four knocks, including a double, and drove in quadruple runs. T

 

Cannons Sweep Twins

Stefan Helyar and Bradley Smith both fired blanks as the Junior Cannons ended their regular reason in style, notching a pair of wins over the North Shore Twins at Parkgate. 

Stefan went the distance, surviving eight walks and striking out six as the Cannons won the opener 7-4.  Nick Favaro’s double ignited a two-run seventh that iced the victory and Stefan helped his cause with a pair of hits.  Geoffrey Legg, who gets on base more than McDonald’s sells Big Macs, singled and walked three times, Ian Creamore added a hit and two walks of his own and also drove in a run, Markus Helyar and Cole Masik each had RBI’s, and Ethan Taylor ante’d up with a single and a walk. 

That set the stage for southpaw Smith, who finished the season throwing the best he has all year.  Bradley struck out eight and scattered six hits on the way to a 4-2 win in the wrap-up.  Legg struck out the last hitter on a curveball for the save. 

 Markus and Bradley Lead Home Run Parade

It must be something about the air in Kelowna.  It invigorates hitters.  The Junior Cannons pounded out 49 hits and scored 37 runs over four games as they split their series with the Okanagan Athletics at the cozy park in Rutland. 

It started fairly slowly in game one…but then came the fourth inning and the Cannons exploded like a Super Nova, scoring 14 runs.  When the dust settled Vancouver led 20-1 after two touchdowns and a pair of field goals. 

Lefty Bradley Smith made like Babe Ruth and popped a grand slam over the right field fence and Markus Helyar, getting pitches to hit and swinging the bat the best he has all year, crushed a two-run shot over the left field wall.  Markus finished with four knocks, including a double, and drove in quadruple runs. 

 

Tough Luck Bradley

Sometimes Bradley Smith must wonder what he has to do to post a win with the Senior Cannons. 

Earlier this season Bradley fired a one-hitter at the Nanaimo Pirates and still lost.  This time he three-hit Coquitlam, struck out six and walked only two…but the Reds eked out a 3-2 victory. 

The Cannons came back to revenge that one, posting an 11-7 verdict against the Reds as Luc Hamel, Max Wood, Mike Orosz and Geoffrey Legg all chipped in with a pair of hits.  Legg and Brandon Favaro both drove in two runs and Josh Gaudette and Ian Creamore added solo RBI’s. 

But the Cannons lost 8-4 to the Abbotsford Cardinals, despite doubles from Connor Noble, Favaro and Byron Prasad.  

 

 

 

Smith posts one-hitter in tough loss

          Bradley Smith was absolutely lights out against Nanaimo, giving up only one hit and two walks while striking out six.  But a sudden attack of unearned runs allowed the Pirates to nip the Cannons 3-2 at Queen’s.

Bradley threw his best game of the year and deserved a much better fate.  Unfortunately, he also made a couple of throwing errors to contribute to the Nanaimo cause.  But that didn’t diminish his performance on the mound, marked by a blue chip fastball and much improved command.

Taylor Ginnetti had a great day at the plate, driving in a pair of runs with three solid hits, and Mike Orosz added two more knocks.

In fact, the Cannons out-hit the Pirates 7-1.

In the other half of the doubleheader Connor Noble turned in his usual solid effort but the Cannons couldn’t muster much offence and the Pirates prevailed 2-0.  Noble struck out five over his six-innings on the hill.

The Cannons lost a tough one to Langley, 3-2 at McLeod with Trevor Anderson solid on the mound.  Vancouver almost pulled it out with a strong comeback in the seventh when Noble and Orosz doubled and Nick Favarosingled to tie the game.  Smith also went two-for-three.

 

 

Vancouver Cannons

2012 Vancouver Cannons Season Preview
The Cannons are the youngest team in the PBL this season with a load of talented rookies on the Vancouver roster.
 
PITCHING—The Cannons have two aces on the mound, LHP Trevor Anderson and RHP Connor Noble.  Both were Select alternates last season and Noble, who leads the PBL in strikeouts, is odds-on to be a mainstay of the B.C. staff this time around.  Anderson is headed to UBC next September, bringing his plus fastball, solid breaking ball and outstanding pick-off move to the Thunderbirds.
 
The rest of the Cannons pitching staff is mostly young but very talented.  Solid righthandersBrandon Marklund and Luc Hamel and outstanding lefty Bradley Smith will see a lot of innings, plus a strong group of junior hurlers.  The veterans include hard-throwing closer Lee Jensen and swing man Justin Gadey.

 

Vancouver Junior Cannons

2012 Junior Vancouver Cannons Season Preview
A whole lot of the Junior Cannons are also seeing a lot of action with the senior team, giving them extra at-bats and innings pitched.
 
That includes grade 9 catcher Nick Favaro, who has drilled a pair of home runs and will be going to B.C. Selects camp, power pitcher Bradley Smith, brilliant outfielder Josh Gaudette, plus Max Wood, Geoffrey Legg and Ian Creamore, who are all solid infielders and promising pitchers.    (See the senior Cannons preview for more on these players.)

 

Posted May 18/11 - Mounties Shutout Braves!

The Vancouver Mounties won their league leading 16th game shutting out a fired up Burnaby Braves baseball club by a 2 - 0 score! On a beautiful sunny night the Mounties made their first trip into Kensington Park to face the Burnaby Braves. As usual when these teams meet the games are hard fought. This one turned out to be a pitchers duel with the Mounties Smith winning the battle over Burnaby's starter McGee.

In the first inning both pitchers combined for 5 strikeouts and that set the tone for the night. The Mounties got things started in the top of the 3rd inning as Gaudette with 2 out and a full count hit a double to keep the inning alive. Smith was the next batter and Gaudette stole third on a pass ball during his at bat. Smith worked a walk and with the Mounties having baserunners on 1st and 3rd and bringing Surya to the plate. With 2 strikes on Surya the Mounties executed a double steal with Gaudette scoring. McGee struck Surya out on the next pitch but the damage was done and the Mounties now had a lead to protect.

It was a well played game by both teams with the pitchers dominating. Smith picked up the win going the distance going 7 innings giving up 0 Runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1HBP, and striking out 10 Brave Batters while throwing only 76 pitches.


 

 

 

Next up on the Mounties Hit List: North Delta AstrosGame Two: Mounties 14 Astros 2

The Astros threatened early in this one with a hit and a walk in the first inning but Smythe ended the inning abruptly when he threw the base runner out when the Astros tried to take liberties on him by stealing 2nd.

Smith, making his first start in the two weeks, was on his game continuing to put up zeros in the top of the innings. The Mounties keeping up with their trend of scoring in each inning added 3 more in the 3rd and putting the game on ice adding another 2 in the 4th to take 14 - 0 lead after 4 complete innings.

The Astros managed a walk and a homerun, causing a big celebration at home plate, in the top of the 5th ending the game with the Mounties walking away with a 14 to 2 mercy victory.

Smith picked up his 3rd win of the season going 5 innings facing only 17 Astro batters giving up 2 earned runs, 2 hits, 3 walks, and striking out 8. Offensively, the Mounties took what was offered reaching base 9 times on base on balls mixed in with 7 well timed hits. Smith's bat stayed hot and he recorded another 3 hits, 3 RBI's and scored 3 runs.

Game One: Mounties 7 Edmonton 0

The Mounties took a 2 - 0 lead in the bottom of the 1st when Smith hit a two run shot scoring Soper and himself. The Mounties scored insurance runs in the bottom of the 4th with a little small ball after Creamore led off the inning with a walk. Woo and Goodson had bunts for hits to load the bases and Gaudette scored Creamore and Woo when he lined a double to the fence. Goodson scored when Hirakawa-Kao grounded out to short. The Mounties led 5 - 0 after 4 innings.

Game One Attendance: 147

 

Posted Apr 23/11 - Mounties Bats Catch FIRE!

The weather heated up and so did the Vancouver Mounties' bats which caught FIRE against the Cloverdale Spurs in a Good Friday double header at Cloverdale Ball Park, the new home of the Vancouver Mounties.


 

The Mounties, who have not played a home game this year, have played 10 of their first 13 games at Cloverdale Ball Park. The Mounties belted out 29 hits on the day defeating the Spurs 9 - 3 in the first game, and then outlasting the spurs 18 - 10 in an exhibition game.


 

Both teams were on their best behaviour on the day as B.C. Minor President Mike Sarai and Director Mike Kelly were on hand to enjoy the Good Friday Sunshine and rivalry between the Mounties and Spurs.


 

Game One: Mounties 9 Cloverdale 3

The Mounties, playing with a bit more urgency than the other night, started strong when Hirakawa -Kao and Soper led off with walks. Smith then reached on error scoring Hirakawa-Kao. Surya then singled to score Soper. Sengara with two out gave the Mounties the clutch hit they never got the last two games to score Smith and Surya to stake the Mounties to a 4 - 0 lead. The Spurs halved that lead when they answered back with 2 in the bottom of the inning.

Smith picked up the win going 6 innings giving up 3 runs, 1 earned, on 3 hits, 2 walks while striking out 11 Spurs batters. Offensively the Mounties chugged out 10 hits with Surya and Sengara leading the way with 3 hits each. Smythe was right behind them adding a pair of hits.


 

This win puts the Mounties back in familiar territory tied with the Tri City Indians atop the Bantam AAA League with a 5 - 1 record.


 

 

Game Two: Mounties 13: Spurs 3

The Spurs fought their way back into the game scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 3rd off of Mounties starter Smith. The Mounties got one of those runs back in the top of the 4th when Williams' bat stayed hot and he knocked in Sengara. Cloverdale came right back and scored 1 off of Hirakawa-Kao to close the gap to 7 - 3 after 4 Innings.

The Mounties put the game away in the 5th when they scored 6 runs when Hirakawa-Kao, Smythe, Smith, and Soper sandwiched hits around 3 base on balls. Hirakawa-Kao kept the Spurs off the score sheet in the bottom of the 5th and Smythe came in to finish up in the 6th. Final score Mounties 13 Spurs 3.

Smith picked up the win giving up 2 runs, 1 earned, while striking out 8 Spur batters. The Mounties outhit the Spurs by an 11 to 5 count.


 

 

 
 

 

 





 


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