The Vancouver Canadians took to the field at Nat Bailey Stadium for the first time in 950 days but the UBC Thunderbirds handed Monty’s Mounties a 2-0 setback in a seven-inning exhibition game Wednesday.
The only two runs of the game came in the top of the fourth against Chad Dallas, a fourth-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021. A single by Nathan Shute drove in the first run and a sacrifice fly by Nolan Weger brought in the second.
P.K. Morris had the lone Vancouver hit when he doubled to right-center to start the second inning. After Sean Heppner opened the game for the T-Birds, their bullpen continued to shut down as Ryan Beitel, Shane Laforest, Adam Khan, Graham Seltzer, Vicarte Domingo and Brett Corbett teamed up to produce five shutout innings out of the bullpen for manager Chris Pritchett, the former Vancouver Canadians first baseman.
Opportunities were few and far between for Monty’s Mounties.
Garrett Spain got aboard on a strikeout/wild pitch and stole second base to start the third inning but he would make it no further.
Miguel Hiraldo made a bid for an extra-base hit but his deep fly ball to center field was hauled in at the warning track by Brandon Hupe in the fourth.
The C’s tried to rally in the seventh when Andrés Sosa and Addison Barger drew walks but Harry Ray sharply grounded into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play after a diving stop by Mike Fitzsimmons at short.
You can also check out this game recap from GoThunderBirds.com.
Radar Gun Rundown
Dallas was around 92-93 miles per hour over his four innings, touching 95 at one point. He also had pitches in the 79-85 mph range.
North Vancouver, BC native Will McAffer struck out one batter in the fifth on a fastball at 93. He also had pitches at 84 and 92.
Mark Simon threw the hardest pitch of the night at 96 in the sixth. He was also at 81, 85, 93 and 95.
Burlington, Ontario’s Alex Nolan was around 93-94 to put up a zero in the eventh.
C-Notes
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats released its 2022 Opening Day roster with 18 former Vancouver Canadians, including eight pitchers. Years the player appeared with the C’s are in parentheses.
- RHP Andrew Bash (2021)
- RHP Parker Caracci (2019, 2021)
- RHP Hagen Danner (2021)
- RHP Nick Fraze (2019, 2021)
- RHP Adrian Hernandez (2021)
- RHP Hayden Juenger (2021)
- RHP Joey Murray (2018)
- RHP Paxton Schultz (2021)
Here is the position player breakdown.
- C Phil Clarke (2019, 2021)
- C Ryan Gold (2021)
- INF John Aiello (2021)
- INF Zac Cook (2021)
- INF Luis De Los Santos (2019, 2021)
- INF Sebastian Espino (2021)
- INF Spencer Horwitz (2019, 2021)
- INF Orelvis Martinez (2021)
- INF Tanner Morris (2021)
- OF Will Robertson (2019, 2021)
2018 reliever Fitz Stadler has landed on the 60-day injured list. He was slated to start the year with Triple-A Buffalo. 2017 lefty Brody Rodning will be on the shelf after undergoing elbow surgery.
2016 Canadians reliever Zach Jackson is going to the show as he has made the Oakland Athletics Opening Day roster. He’ll be joined by 2017 pitcher Dany Jiménez.
2014 Canadians second baseman Tim Locastro will start the year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
A number of former C’s are taking the field in MLB Partner Leagues in 2022, including six in the American Association.
- RHP Joey Pulido (2018-2019) – Sioux Falls Canaries
- OF Connor Panas (2015) – Lincoln Saltdogs
- RHP Jon Harris (2015) – Kansas City Monarchs
- RHP Justin Shafer (2014) – Kansas City Monarchs
- C Matt Morgan (2017) – Cleburne Railriders
- LHP Kyle Huckaby (2019) – Lake County DockHounds
In the Frontier League, there are four Canadians alumni.
- OF Rodrigo Orozco (2015, 2016) – Ottawa Titans
- RHP Andrew Case (2014, 2015) Quebec Capitals
- SS Yeltsin Gudino (2016) – Schaumberg Boomers
- 1B Juan Kelly (2015) – Trois-Rivières Aigles
Three former Canadians are in the Atlantic League
- RHP Arik Sikula (2012) – Charleston Dirty Birds
- RHP Connor Law (2018) – Staten Island FerryHawks
- 1B Kacy Clemens (2017) – Staten Island FerryHawks
2019 C’s outfielder Dom Abbadessa will suit up for the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League.
Wednesday’s game will mark the last time a game will be played without pitch clocks. They are expected to be installed by Opening Day on Tuesday, April 19 against the Eugene Emeralds.
Davis Schneider was assigned number 31 on the Opening Day roster handed out on Media Day but wore number 1 last night.
The Canadians have listed the starters for their first four regular season games. Adam Kloffenstein gets the Opening Night start in Spokane on Friday and he will be followed by Trent Palmer and Sem Robberse on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Naswell Paulino will be on the mound for their series opener in Tri-City on Tuesday.
Tyler Zickel will have the play-by-play on CanadiansBaseball.com. Game times in Spokane over the weekend are 6:35 pm, 5:09 pm and 1:05 pm at Avista Stadium.
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