D1 games featuring Canadians to watch this weekend
10 Canucks highlight the list of games to follow
It’s Thursday, which means another weekend slate of Division I games are about to get underway.
Here’s five that Canadian fans should keep an eye on.
Southern Illinois at Indiana State
OF Carter Beck (Carnduff, Sask.) went 2-for-5 with two RBI in a 9-8, extra inning victory over Purdue on Tuesday. In 33 games this season, he’s hitting .278 with eight home runs and a .912 OPS.
When he looks across the field, he’ll see fellow Canadian OF Jordan Bach (Ladner, BC) who has a .331 average for the Salukis and sits second on the team with 41 hits.
Indiana at Illinois
Illinois is attempting to win their third straight Big Ten Conference series and they’ve relied heavily on the offensive production of three Canadians. OF Nick Groves (Bayfield, Ont.) leads the team with a .357 average, while INF Greg LaChance (Whitby, Ont.) is hitting .328. OF Cameron Chee-Aloy (Toronto, Ont.) rounds out the trio with a .255 average along with a .417 on-base percentage and eight stolen bases.
For the Hoosiers, freshman Will Moore (Paris, Ont.) has played in 24 games and owns a .333 average and .500 OBP.
Evansville at Illinois State
Illinois State RHP Tyrelle Chadwick (Kamloops, BC) has been the Redbirds Game 3 starter and had one of his best starts of the season when he tossed 8.1 innings and surrendered two runs on seven hits in an eventual 3-2, 10 inning loss to Valparaiso last week.
Evansville has four Canadians, led on the mound by RHP Owen Byberg (Barrie, Ont.) who’s made 10 appearances, including six starts, and pitched to a 4.42 ERA.
Memphis at Florida Atlantic
INF Brando Leroux (Markham, Ont.) is the reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Week and is second on the Owls with a .361 average.
Wofford at UNC Greensboro
RHP Jay Miller (Corner Brook, Nfld.) is putting together a fine season in the University of North Carolina at Greensboro rotation. In his last start he allowed four runs on five hits over 5.1 innings to help the Spartans to a 5-4 win over East Tennessee State. On the campaign, he’s 1-3 with a 3.80 ERA across seven starts and 42.2 innings.