Blanchette spins a no-no for Galveston

Revue de presse

By Elizabeth Zogalis, Canadian Baseball NetWork, le 24 mars 2014

For a province better known for producing NHL all-star goalies, Quebec seems to be pumping out high calibre pitchers in recent years.

First there was 2003 Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagne of Montreal. And more recently, Phillipe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.), who became the first Quebec-born player drafted in the first round (11th overall in 2007), has been enjoying success with the Philadelphia Phillies.

At the collegiate level earlier this month, another young Quebec native — LHPGuillaume Blanchette (Saint Constant, Que.) — made his name known with an outstanding pitching performance as a member of the Galveston Whitecaps. On March 14, Blanchette tossed his first career no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over Laredo Community College.

Photo ci-dessus : LHP Guillaume Blanchette (Saint Constant, Que.) made a name for himself this month when he tossed a no-hitter at the collegiate level as a member of the Galveston Whitecaps.

“It’s something that happens so rarely and I didn’t want it to slip away,” said Blanchette, 20, who is in his sophomore season with the Whitecaps. “I did everything I could to keep it alive, and my teammates did an incredible job behind me.”

Through seven innings, Blanchette faced 23 batters, threw 89 pitches, struck out six and walked two. The left-hander said he had to adjust his release point during the game because the mound he’d warmed up on before the game was much higher than the one he pitched off against his Laredo opposition.

It wasn’t until the sixth inning that Blanchette realized the potential for a no-hitter. After a tough play that had him running to cover first base to record an out, he says, it crossed the youngster’s mind.

“My teammates didn’t say a word to me because they didn’t want to jinx it,” the left-hander said. “But as the game progressed, I could see they were talking amongst each other.”

Blanchette says he really started to get nervous when he barely snagged a low comebacker to his right, but managed to make the play and the toss to his first baseman for the final out of the sixth inning.

“To start the seventh inning, the batter got a good piece of the ball, and the wind was blowing, so I got nervous,” Blanchette said. “But my left fielder made a long run and preserved it. After that, I knew I wouldn’t give them another chance to get close like that again.”
And he didn’t.

Blanchette said that his father was the first person he thought of after throwing his final strike of the seventh which earned him a feat that not many pitchers — at any level — are able to accomplish. He credits his coaches and teammates, whom he calls ‘a second family,’ for guiding him through the game.

“I know my pitching coach has a solid game plan every game,” Blanchette said. “I want my teammates to feel confident when I get up there.”

Blanchette’s no-hitter was his fourth win of the season, and he now owns an ERA of 0.69, which is well on track to best his 2.73 mark from last season, when he joined the Whitecaps in Texas all the way from Saint Constant, Que. This spring Blanchette has walked 12 and struck out 21 in 34 1/3 innings.

“At first, it was a little weird having to speak English constantly, and with all the slang (the players) use I was really confused sometimes,” Blanchette said. “But I adapted quickly, and I love the place.”

Blanchette emerged from the LBJEQ (Ligue de Baseball Junior Elite Quebec), where he was Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 2012. He arrived in Texas on scholarship shortly after he helped Quebec win a gold medal at the Under 21 National Championships.

“I want to win a national championship (with the Whitecaps),” said Blanchette, who is studying Kinesiology at the college. “We’ve been training since August and have sacrificed a lot. We have a team that will surprise a lot of people. Not many of us thought we could be here, but we know we have the elements to be successful and shock the nation.”

Galveston is currently 20-11, one game out of first place in the conference. Chris Joblin‘s Whitecaps posted a 32-23 regular season record last year, which was the best single season record in the team’s past 10 years. They went on to have a very competitive showing at the NJCAA Region XIV Tournament.

Blanchette, an Expos fan-turned-Red Sox fan, will be doing his part to make 2014 a big year for the Whitecaps.

The other two Canadians wearing white caps for the Whitecaps are 3B Raphael Gladu (Trois-Rivieres Que.) and RHP Jeremy Sylvester (Regina, Sask.). Gladu is hitting .297 with two doubles, two triples and 11 RBIs. Sylvester is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA, walking four and striking out eight in nine innings.

Revue de presse publiée par Jacques Lanciault.