OTTAWA – Ontario and Québec have qualified for the medal round in each of the Baseball Canada National Championships which they were eligible. This time, they will attempt to bring home medals in the Bantam Boys, Bantam Girls and Senior Men’s Championships.
But first, at the Peewee Western Championship in Red Deer, Alberta, the semi-finals are set. Cloverdale and Vancouver earned their spots after going 3-0 in round-robin play. Saskatoon and Sherwood Park punched their tickets for the medal round after victories earlier today combined with a North Winnipeg loss to Vancouver. Vancouver defeated North Winnipeg 18-5.
At the Senior Men’s Championship in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Alberta and Québec earned byes to the semi-finals after each winning their pools. Meanwhile in the quarter-finals, Ontario moved on with an 8-3 win over Nova Scotia.
Anthony Dufour (LaSalle, ON) led the way offensively for Ontario, going 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI. Dustin Wiley (Hamilton, ON) contributed with a 2-for-3 effort, including a solo home run and Steve Carter (Tecumseh, ON) threw a complete game to earn the win, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
Also, Newfoundland continued their surprising mount toward a medal with an impressive 12-2 win over New Brunswick (Chatham).
So the semi-final matchups feature upstart Newfoundland against Alberta and Ontario versus Québec. But the semi-finals and gold and bronze medal games have been postponed until Monday due to the arrival of Hurricane “Bill” in the region.
At the Bantam Boys Championship in Vaughan, Ontario, both Ontario and Québec earned byes to the semis after dominating through the round-robin schedule. New Brunswick made their way to the quarter-finals after their 9-5 win over Newfoundland that included a seven run fifth inning to put the game away.
Brett Malone (Chatham, NB) went 2-for-2 with a home run, double and three RBI to lead the way offensively. Matt Bursey (Saint John, NB) also contributed, going 2-for -3 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored.
Vaughan also earned a spot in the medal round after their 6-2 win over British Columbia. Ryan McDougall (Scarborough, ON) went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and three RBI to pace the offence.
Despite the loss, B.C. still qualified for the medal round and will face New Brunswick in the quarter-finals. Nova Scotia also got into the medal round through the back door after their 13-0 loss to Ontario in their final round-robin matchup. They will now take on Vaughan in the quarters.
At the Bantam Girls Championship in Toronto, Ontario, British Columbia earned their spot in the gold medal game after going 2-0 in the winner’s bracket. Québec also qualified for the gold medal game in virtue of their win over Ontario by a score of 6-3.
Melissa Pagé (Ste-Julie, QC) and Audrey Coulombe (Gatineau, QC) both drove in a pair of runs in the win, while Gabrielle Perreault (St-Nicholas, QC) hit an RBI triple, going 1-for-3.
Ontario will play for bronze and will take on Saskatchewan, who came out of the loser’s bracket with a 2-0 record, including a 13-1 win over Alberta. Karli Reeve (Yorkton, SK) drove in four runs, while Brittany Corbett (Melfort, SK) drove in three runs in the game.
To follow the 2009 Baseball Canada National Championships live, click on the following link: http://www.baseball.ca/eng_doc.cfm?DocID=145
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