THOMAS GODOJ TEAM » e rang a wrist shot off the near post. Backman

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Bases loaded in the first inning, none out and Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista at the plate. A recipe for disaster for most pitchers. Especially a teenage thrower. But it turned into a day to remember for 17-year-old starter Ben Onyshko who managed to hold Bautista and his US$14-million annual salary to a sacrifice fly. The Winnipeg native got out of the inning without further damage and yielded just two runs on four hits over his three innings for the Canadian junior baseball team. "The experience of a lifetime," Onyshko said after leaving the game tied 2-2. The young Canadians took it on the chin after that. A Toronto Blue Jays split squad rallied for three runs in the fifth inning, four in the seventh and three in the eighth en route to a 12-2 victory over the Canadian juniors Tuesday under the sunshine at Al Lang Field. Onyshko, who has accepted a scholarship to Stetson University, said he tried to just focus on the task at hand in the first when Bautista came to the plate after two walks and a Moises Sierra single. "Ive got to admit my mind was racing a little bit," the left-hander said with a smile. "It was surreal." "I was scared for a split second when he (Bautista) hit the ball. Once I was able to get that first out, I think things started to roll a bit better. I settled in." Onyshko, who recorded one strikeout, had his parents and sister looking on in the stands. Jays starter Brandon Morrow, not helped by a Colby Rasmus error, gave up two runs on four hits. He struck out two and walked three. Morrow, who threw 47 pitches, was happy with his split-fingered delivered but called his command of the fast ball "terrible." "I was getting frustrated with myself out there, if you didnt notice," he said dryly. Morrow was followed by Sergio Santos, Steve Delabar and Aaron Sanchez. Onyshko gave way to Zach Pop of Brampton, Ont., J.P. Stevenson of Hunter River, P.E.I., and Isaac Anesty of Guelph, Ont. The Jays finished with 12 hits to seven for the Canadians, who were tagged with three errors. Delabar got the win and Sanchez the save while Pop took the loss. Toronto broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the fifth off Pop, with Canadian Brett Lawrie sparking the charge with a double. A Canadian error helped the Toronto cause. Highly touted outfielder Gareth Morgan of Toronto singled, walked and struck out for the young Canadians. While other major league teams tend to put up prospects against the Canadian juniors, Toronto brought out some stars as well as a bevy of its own young Canadian talent. Bautista, Adam Lind, Rasmus, Dioner Navarro and Munenori Kawasaki were in a starting lineup that also included Canadians Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) and Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont). Lawrie, who used to be part of the Baseball Canada program, was 2-for-3 on the day. Other Canadians who saw action for the Jays included Michael Crouse of Port Moody, B.C., Markus Knecht of Toronto, Justin Atkinson of Surrey, B.C., Mike Reeves of Peterborough, Ont., and Mike Nickeas of Vancouver. It was no ordinary spring training game. Players from both teams mingled for a group photograph in the outfield before the first pitch, with Kawasaki and Bautista sticking around for their own shot surrounded by the young Canadians. Bautista also gave the Canadian teens a pep talk. The Canadian juniors play in the fall instructional league against young major league talent before their spring series in Florida in March and April. This year, the Florida opposition includes teams from the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals as well as the Jays. In May, the Canadians take part in the Dominican Summer League. The idea is to expose the young players to a professional environment and competition. The Canadian schedule is built around a qualifying tournament in Mexico in September for the 2015 world junior championships in Japan. Canada is bidding to become one of four teams to emerge from the Americas. With John Gibbons leading another Jays squad in Lakeland, Fla., against the Detroit Tigers, first-base coach Tim Leiper served as manager in St. Petersburg. Leiper has Canadian ties. He managed in the Montreal Expos organization, including a stint at the helm of the triple-A Ottawa Lynx of the International League in 2002. He also served as a coach on the 2004 Canadian Olympic team as well as Canadas 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic squads. He was part of the Baseball Canada staff that won bronze medals at both the 2008 and 2011 Baseball World Cups and gold in the 2011 Pan-American Games. Leiper joined the Jays coaching staff in the off-season after spending the past year as a special assistant to player development in the Toronto system. Cheap Football Jerseys .C. -- The Steve Smith era in Carolina is over. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . The 21-year-old Canadian earned a spot in his third career ATP final on Saturday thanks to his first Top 10 victory of the new tennis season, a 6-4, 6-4 win over world no. 10 Nicolas Almagro of Spain. http://www.jerseysnflwholesale.net/. Tepesch, back from the minor leagues, earned his first major league victory in more than 10 months and the Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday. Wholesale World Cup Jerseys 2018 . He still wanted out. "It just seemed like the direction they were going didnt fit what I thought my career was going to be," Kesler said. "At the end of the day I want to win a championship and I want to win it now, and four years is a little too long for me. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . The young man, never lacking confidence, thought he could be really good.ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- Ryan Sproul scored the winner late in double overtime to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Friday in Game 1 of their American Hockey League playoff series. After the Griffins stole the puck in the Heat zone, the puck came around to Sproul at the point and his wrist shot found its way through a maze of bodies with 33.4 seconds to go in the second overtime period. Mattias Backman, playing just his third game in North America, tied the game in the third period for the Griffins. Petr Mrazek stopped 55 shots in the win for Grand Rapids, who killed six penalties in the game, including a five-minute major late in the second period. Their fifth-ranked penalty kill limited Abbotsfords fourth-ranked power plays opportunities, including a penalty to Jordin Tootoo with just three minutes to play in the third. Game 2 is Saturday at the Abbotsford Centre. Olson opened the scoring for the home side at 11:44 of the first. Knight centred for Sven Baertschi in the slot. The Swiss winger was robbed on the one-timer and the rebound but Olson swooped in and buried the loose puck to give the Heat the early lead. The Heat had an opportunity to double their lead on back-to-back power plays midway through the second period. The best chance was Ben Street down low, but Mrazek followed him left to right, kicking his pad out to keep the Griffins within one goal. Grand Rapids best opportunity to tie the game came on a power play with six minutes to play in the second. Andreas Athanasiou broke in and tried to beat Ortio withh a slick backhand deke, but the Finnish netminder made a nice glove save to keep his team up by one.dddddddddddd The Heat had a glorious opportunity to expand their lead late in the second period. While already on the penalty kill, the Griffins David McIntyre hit the Heats Chris Breen into the boards from behind, drawing a five-minute major. However, they managed only a few scoring chances, leaving the visiting Griffins within a goal. Tootoo nearly tied the game shortly after the major penalty expired, but he rang a wrist shot off the near post. Backman finally evened the game at 12:37 of the third, toe-dragging the puck around rookie Emile Poirier, and firing a shot top corner, blocker side. Michael Granlund had a quality scoring chance late in the third period with Tootoo in the box again, but his sleek backhand was snared by Mrazeks glove, sending the game to overtime. Granlund also had a pair of back-to-back scoring chances about seven minutes into overtime, including a point-blank kick save by Mrazek to extend the overtime period. Mrazek was shaken up around the 16-minute mark of overtime. The Czech goalie rushed way out of his net to chip a puck away from Baertschi. The two collided and it took a great defensive block by Nick Jensen to stop Olson from burying the puck into the empty net. Mrazek was tended to by the trainer but remained in the game. Midway through the second overtime period the Heats line of Baertschi, Olson and Corban Knight had a shift on which they had three quality looks at Mrazek, but failed to end the game. ' ' '