TORONTO -- The fifth annual Tournament 12 got underway Thursday at Rogers Centre in Toronto, showcasing Canada's 160 best young amateur baseball players with college eligibility. The event runs through Sunday.
Eight teams represent every Canadian province and will play a four-game round-robin before the top two teams from each pool advance to the playoff round Sunday. The event, run by Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar, also features a scout day Friday, during which the players get valuable exposure in front of college and pro scouts.
In addition to each team's coaching staff, a group of Blue Jays alumni, including Devon White, Lloyd Moseby, Jesse Barfield and Duane Ward, will work with the players throughout the tournament.
• Clarke among top Canadian talent at T12
Thursday results
• Atlantic Maroon made a late push, but fell just short in a 3-2 loss against Prairies Purple to open the day. Prairies' shortstop Owen Harms went 3-for-4 with an RBI while right-hander Garrett Hawkins dominated with four no-hit innings that included five strikeouts.
• Futures Navy scored three runs in the seventh inning to beat Quebec Blue, 6-4. Noah Case doubled, tripled, and drove in five runs while Noel McGarry Doyle and Dayton Peters each walked three times. William Perrin had a double, triple and two RBIs for Quebec and lefty Christopher Pouliot struck out an incredible 11 batters over four innings.
• Alberta Red topped Ontario Green, 6-4, in the third game. Gavin Logan tripled and stole a base for Alberta. Blake Buckle went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Ontario and right-hander Lukas Barry got them started with three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out two.
• Atlantic Maroon moved to 1-1 with a 6-1 win over Futures Navy in their second game. Nova Scotia's Micah McDowell went 3-for-4 with an RBI and New Brunswick's Philip Rail drove in two. Ryan Scott, Cameron Brewer and Evan O'Toole combined to hold Futures to one run. Futures' starter Justin Thorsteinson was charged with four earned runs over three innings, but allowed just one hit and struck out six.
• Ontario Black fell, 6-0, to B.C. Orange. Noah Naylor, brother of Padres' No. 10 prospect Josh Naylor, walked twice. Jayden Knight led B.C. with a double and three runs batted in. On the hill, Madjik McKenzie carried a one-hitter through five innings for B.C. and struck out five.
• Quebec Blue beat Prairies Purple, 5-1, to end the night, moving both of their records to 1-1. Justin Humenay and Emile Boies both had two hits for Quebec, while Xavier Leduc struck out out eight over four scoreless innings. Shortstop Tristan Peters singled three times for Prairies Purple, which was held to four hits.