OTTAWA – Offence is the story on this Saturday morning in both Kindersley, Saskatchewan and Trois-Rivières, Québec. Also a muddied playoff picture in Pool B of the Baseball Canada Cup just got a little clearer.
Alex Ostrov (Timberlea, NS) allowed only one run on three hits in a complete game win over Saskatchewan 8-1. David McIntyre (Bedford, NS) went 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in the victory.
The win puts Nova Scotia in first place of Pool B at the moment with a 4-1 record. Alberta, who has a 3-1 record, plays Newfoundland later today and with a victory will claim first place due to their earlier win over Nova Scotia.
Elsewhere, Milan Mantle (Surrey, BC) threw a five inning no-hitter for British Columbia in a 10-0 mercy win over New Brunswick. Mantle’s only blemish was a walk in the fifth inning, but was completely dominant striking out 10 New Brunswick hitters.
Also, Matt Craine (Winnipeg, MB) threw a complete game four-hitter, walking only one and striking out nine in Manitoba’s shutout victory over Prince Edward Island 5-0. As well Ontario stayed on top of Pool A with a 14-7 win over Québec.
In Trois-Rivières, New Brunswick’s offence exploded in the sixth inning against Nova Scotia, sending 13 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs in a 7-1 win over their maritime rival.
Ben Higgins (Moncton, NB) was 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Robert Gallant (Miramichi, NB) hit a two-run single in that seven run sixth, going 1-for-4.
In other action, Matt Cook (Dresden, ON) threw a complete game two-hitter, walking two and striking out an impressive 12 batters on route to a 9-0 shutout win for Ontario (Windsor) over Newfoundland.
Cameron Goddard (Windsor, ON) went 4-for-4 with two runs scored, a double and an RBI, while his teammate Matt Varacalli (Windsor, ON) went 2-for-2 with three RBI and a run scored in the victory.
Also, Antoine Desilets (St-Maurice, QC) and Dominique Samyn (Montreal, QC) both went 3-for-4 to help lead Trois-Rivières beat Manitoba 7-4, and British Columbia defeated Ontario (Mississauga) by a score of 6-5.
To follow the 2009 Baseball Canada National Championships live, click on the following link: http://www.baseball.ca/eng_doc.cfm?DocID=145
