Allgemeines » any remaining doubt. Mississippi State had an 11-1

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. Shawn Kemp Thunder Jersey . The young man, never lacking confidence, thought he could be really good. Kevin Hervey Thunder Jersey . This week they discuss the Philadelphia 76ers, Gregg Popovich, Royal and Ancient Golf Club and Bill Belichick. https://www.thunderrookiesshop.com/Andre-Roberson-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 98-96 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Thunder Jersey . -- Kevin Harvick pulled away on a restart with 47 laps to go and ended Chase Elliotts two-race winning streak in NASCARs Nationwide Series with a dominating victory early Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. Nerlens Noel Thunder Jersey .C. -- Marcus Paige and his North Carolina teammates have endured so many wild swings -- big wins, surprising losses, NCAA drama -- that no one can blame their Hall of Fame coach for wondering whats next.STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State was crushed twice by Florida last season, once by 35 points and the other by 25. This time around, the margin was just 11. That represents progress for Mississippi State, which lost 62-51 to No. 3 Florida on Thursday night, but the gap between the Gators and the Bulldogs is still vast. "Our team is growing," Mississippi State coach Rick Ray said. "But weve still got a ways to go." Mississippi State (13-7, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) lost for the first time at home during conference play. Colin Borchert scored 15 and Craig Sword 12 for Mississippi State. Casey Prather scored 16 points, Patric Young added 12 and the Gators used a 16-4 run early in the second half to turn a tight game into a relatively easy victory. Florida has won 12 straight this season and four in a row against the Bulldogs. It was the 12th time this season Florida (18-2, 7-0) held an opponent to 60 points or fewer. "We cant always control the ball going in the basket," Young said. "But we can control our energy on the defensive end." And that energy was intense the entire night. Mississippi State shot a respectable 23 of 54 (42.6 per cent) from the field, but had to work hard on every possession. The Bulldogs briefly took a 31-30 lead early in the second half on Gavin Wares layup, but the Gators responded with a 16-4 run. Mississippi State couldnt muster the energy for a rally. Florida coach Billy Donovan said the key to stopping Mississippi State was keeping them off the free throw line. The Bulldogs had 117 combined free-throw attempts in three SEC home games this season. They were just 1 of 6 on Thursday. "A huge key was if we could defend them off the bounce and not foul," Donovan said. "I thought we did a good job there." Floridas Michael Frazier II had just nine points, but his three 3-pointers helped the Gators keep a comfortable lead throughout most of the second half. The 6-foot-4 sophomore missed his first six 3-point attempts before the last three dropped. The Gators shot 6 of 20 (30 per cent) from 3-point range and 8 of 19 (42.dddddddddddd1 per cent) on free throws. Chris Walker, Floridas touted 6-foot-10 freshman forward, is expected to make his college debut on Tuesday against Missouri after being cleared by the NCAA. His arrival will give the Gators some much needed frontcourt depth. But Young was enough on Thursday. The powerful 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior was a consistent presence on both ends of the court, providing timely baskets and post defence. "No disrespect to Mississippi State, but theyre probably not going to win an SEC championship this year," Young said. "We have an opportunity to do that, and we need to play to a championship level." Prather went to the locker room briefly in the first half after an ankle injury, but returned to shoot 7 of 8 from the field. His baseline drive and dunk gave the Gators a 55-42 lead with 5 minutes left that ended any remaining doubt. Mississippi State had an 11-1 record at Humphrey Coliseum coming into Thursdays game and was tough once again on its home floor. Tyson Cunningham made an off-balance 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to spark an 8-0 run at the end of the first half, and I.J. Readys layup a few seconds before the buzzer pulled the Bulldogs within 27-26. Florida was coming off a dominant defensive performance in a 67-41 victory over Tennessee on Saturday, and the teams length and athleticism also gave the Bulldogs problems. But the Gators couldnt hit shots -- making just 10 of 27 (37 per cent) from the field in the first half. Nothing was easy. Young hit a couple inside buckets early in the second half and Prathers layup at the rim gave the Gators a 42-32 advantage with 12:05 remaining. Mississippi State had a couple of good moments in the second half, but Floridas superior depth, size and athleticism proved too much to overcome. Ready added 10 points for the Bulldogs. "Offensively we had our problems," Mississippi State coach Rick Ray. "I thought we had a plethora of opportunities in the first half to finish at the rim that we just didnt get done." ' ' '