OTTAWA- While the Women’s National Team is competing at the World Cup in Miyazaki, Japan and the Junior National Team is in La Paz/Los Cabos, Mexico for the COPABE 18U Pan American Championships, the stars of tomorrow are in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for the 13U National Atlantic Championships. Held annually on the east coast, this event will close out yet another successful championship season across the Nation. 4 games were scheduled on opening day, and here’s a look at the action from day one with the event scheduled to run through Sunday.
Summerside (PEI) 8 Halifax (NS2) 7
Game one of competition on opening day gave us an exciting matchup that saw Summerside (PEI) come out on top thanks to a clutch sixth inning. With the score tied 5-5, center fielder Dylan Thomas hit a one out single, before utilizing his speed and stealing second and third. With Thomas at third, left fielder Marcus Gauthier singled home his teammate and gave his team the lead. After Gauthier stole second, Blake Mackinnon was issued a walk to put two runners on. Summerside once again proved that great speed can be threat, putting two runners in scoring position thanks to a well-executed double steal. With Gauthier at third and Mackinnon at second, first base Dylan Noonan singled to cash in two more runs and give his team a comfortable three run lead going into the final inning. Despite scoring 2 in the last inning, Halifax could not complete the comeback in this thrilling game that saw both teams combine for 24 hits.
Fredericton (NB1) 11 Kentville (NS3) 4
Fredericton registered 11 runs on 11 hits en route to their first victory of the championship. Catcher and leadoff hitter Mike Grant was key in the win scoring twice and adding two hits. Olivier Burnett had three hits and scored once, while first base Mathieu Savoie recorded a timely hit that scored two of his teammates in the top of the fourth inning. Fredericton sent five different pitchers to the mound, which proved to be beneficial as they limited Kentville to only 6 hits.
Dartmouth (NS1) 9 Charlottetown (Host) 7
Despite a late rally in the bottom of the seventh inning, host team Charlottetown was unable to complete the comeback on day one of competition against Dartmouth. Short stop Cameron Brown registered two hits and scored twice, while Benjamin Roode also had a solid night at the plate with two hits. In the lost, Charlottetown showed that they had talent across the lineup, as at least seven hitters registered a hit for a combined twelve.
KV (NB2) 11 St. John’s (NL1) 6
KV (NB2) pounded on 15 hits en route to their first win of the tournament to close out day 1 of competition at the 13U National Atlantic Championships. Ryan Craig had an amazing day at the plate with 3 hits and an impressive 6 RBIs. Jordan Fortin also added two RBIs with his two hits. 6 batters registered at least two hits in the win for KV (NB2), which shows they will be a team to watch offensively for the rest of the tournament.
Notes: All Baseball Canada National Championship events can be followed with live scoring courtesy of Pointstreak. The 13U National Atlantic also has live streaming available here.
