A new face and a veteran face helped Team Canada win its second warm-up game for the regional Olympic qualifier.
CF Sebastien Boucher (Ottawa, Ont.) and Todd Betts (Scarborough, Ont.) helped the Canucks to a 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners farmhands at Peoria, Az.
Betts, who played junior in East York and was with the Team Canada gold-medal winning junior champs in 1991, went 2-for-3 with two doubles with three RBIs.
Boucher, who played for Donald Campbell's Ottawa-Nepean Canadians and went on to win conference player of the year for Bethune-Cookman, doubled in an important run.
Four pitchers combined to limit the Mariners to three hits.
RHP Steve Green (Longueuil, Que.) started and worked two innings, allowing one hit and striking out three.
Aaron Myette (Surrey, BC) pitched the next two innings allowing two hits, including a solo homer. Myette picked up the victory.
Then, RPs T.J. Burton (Ottawa, Ont.) and Chris Mears (Victoria, BC) finished up with two scoreless innings apiece.
Burton fanned two, while Mears struck out four.
With the Mariners leading 1-0 in the fifth, Maxim St. Pierre (Pintendre, Que.) already on base after singling to left field, OF Jeremy Ware (Guelph, Ont.) drew a walk on four straight pitches.
Betts delivered a two-run double off top of the wall in right field to take a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning.
Boucher hitting lead-off for manager Ernie Whitt (Clinton Township, a Windsor, Ont. suburb) drove a double down the left field line scoring SS Kevin Nicholson (Vancouver, BC), who drew a two-out walk. Nicholson had battled back for the free pass for a 3-1 lead after being behind 1-2 in the count.
Boucher beat out an an infield single outracing the pitcher to the first-base bag as he took the throw from the first baseman.
With Boucher on first, Russ Martin (Chelsea, Que.) found the gap in right-centre on a hit-and-run to put the Canadians up 4-1.
Martin, 2-for-2 at the plate, stole third base and scored two pitches later on a ground ball to by Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, Alta.)
Team Canada plays Team USA at Maryvale next.
In the opener of the round-robin regional qualifier, LHP Adam Loewen (Surrey, BC) will start against Nicaragua on Tuesday. In Game 2 against Guatemala on Wednesday, RHP Jon Lockwood (Toronto, Ont.) gets the ball. After that RHP Chris Begg (Uxbridge, Ont.) faces Panama onWednesday.
Next come games against Mexico on Friday and Team USA on Saturday. A probable starter has yet to be named for either game.
