Photo: Just Sports Photography
OTTAWA – After day 2 being almost completely rained out on Thursday, action resumed at the Baseball Canada Cup on Friday as PEI and New Brunswick concluded their match-up in the morning.
Québec is now 1st place in Pool A with 3 wins while New Brunswick’s 3-0 record has them leading Pool B. In pool B, Saskatchewan isn’t far behind the leader with 2 wins. They also lead Nova Scotia 4-0 in their game that was postponed Friday night. Ontario trails Québec in Pool A with a 2-1 record. Manitoba’s 2-1 record has them in the middle of the pack of Pool B.
Here’s a look at all of the action from day two:
New Brunswick 3 Prince Edward Island 2
Before being rained out on Thursday, PEI and New Brunswick were able to get more than half the game in. By the time the game was postponed, PEI had a 2-1 lead. Starting pitchers Blake Flinn (Riverview, NB) for New Brunswick and Matt Barlow (Summerside, PE) for PEI both threw 3 shutout innings to start the game. PEI took the lead in the top of the fourth on a 2-RBI single by Ryan May (Charlottetown, PE). New Brunswick then shortened the lead to 1 on a RBI single from Jason Doucet (Dieppe, NB). The game was postponed until Friday morning before any more scoring plays took place. When action resumed, New Brunswick tied the game in the bottom of the 6th on a RBI double from Adam Estey (Fredericton, NB). Estey then scored on a dropped 3rd strike to take the lead. PEI was shutout in the top of the 7th by Jordan Drier (Williamstown, NB) to end the game and secure the win.
Saskatchewan 14 Newfoundland and Labrador 0
Saskatchewan put on an impressive offensive showing for the home crowd when they defeated Newfoundland and Labrador by a score of 14-0 in 5 innings. The team put together 16 hits from 8 of 9 players. Notable performances include Dylan Flasch (Lloydminster, SK) who started the game off with a bang. Flasch hit a homerun in the top of the 1st off of Newfoundland starting pitcher Tyler Hennessey (Conception Bay South, NL) and went 3 for 3 with 2 walks in the game. Jordan Malainey (Saskatoon, SK) was also dominant at the plate going 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs. His triple in the top of the 3rd drove in 1 run. Saskatchewan capped it all off with a 6 run inning in the top of the 5th. Daniel Rice (St. John’s, NL) and Daniel Hogarth (Conception Bay South, NL) both got hits for Newfoundland. The team just couldn’t seem to figure out Saskatchewan pitchers Parker McRae (Nipawin, SK) and Devon Schultz (Swift Current, SK) who together threw 5 shutout innings.
Manitoba 9 Nova Scotia 5
Both teams got the bats going early ending the 1st inning with a score of 4-3 Manitoba. Starter Jared Spearing (Winnipeg, MB) outlasted Nova Scotia’s Jaden Griffen (Sackville, NS) to earn the win allowing 5 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 4 innings of work. 8 runs came in during Griffen’s time on the mound who allowed 6 hits and 3 walks. Tyler Wood (Winnipeg, MB) made an important impact driving in Manitoba’s first run with a double in the 1st and adding another RBI in the bottom of the 2nd. Manitoba’s 1st inning lead lasted the entire game as they added insurance runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
Ontario 7 British Columbia 2 (8 innings)
Ontario pulled off a huge extra-innings win against BC in a competitive match-up. Ontario relied on a variety of arms to pull off the win. Matthew Jones (Whitby, ON), Mateos Kekatos (Toronto, ON) and Zachary Fascia (Brampton, ON) who was credited with the win each got some work in. They combined for 9 strikeouts in the game. Kyle Stubbins (Surrey, BC), Indigo Diaz (North Vancouver, BC) and Chase Stewart (Abbotsford, BC) who was charged with the loss all took the mound for BC. Ari Sechopoulos (Windsor, ON) made an impact at the plate by driving in a couple runs for Ontario. The game was tied 2-2 after 7 innings of play which forced extra innings. Ontario exploded in the top of the 8th with a 5-run inning and shutout BC in the bottom to seal the victory.
Québec 9 Alberta 1
William Sierra (Montréal, QC) had a very successful outing on the mound for Québec allowing only 1 run over 5.1 innings of work. Sierra struck out 9 while giving up a walk and 3 hits. Édouard Julien (Québec, QC) and Xavier Langlois (Varennes, QC) both contributed to Québec’s offence with two hits apiece. Ben Erwin (Spruce Grove, AB) was charged with the loss for Alberta allowing 2 runs in 2.2 innings while striking out 4. Alberta’s only run was scored on a Soren Graverson (Calgary, AB) single in the bottom of the 6th. Québec’s Marcel-Maxime Lacasse (Gatineau, QC) saw some action as well tossing 1.2 shutout innings to close out the game.
New Brunswick 7 Newfoundland and Labrador 0
Newfoundland was again shutout by their opponent in a 7-0 loss to New Brunswick who moved to 3-0 with the win and now sits atop Pool B. New Brunswick’s Shaun Hickey (Saint John, NB) was dominant on the mound allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk in his 5 shutout innings. Hickey struck out 4 during his performance. Ben Murphy (St John’s, NL) started on the mound for Newfoundland and took the loss after allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk in 4 innings. Brett Mercier (Moncton, NB) led the offense for New Brunswick driving in 2 runs on 2 hits. Matthew Janes took over in the 5th and shutout New Brunswick allowing only 1 walk and 1 hit in his 2 innings of work, but his efforts proved to be too late as Newfoundland’s offence couldn’t make up the deficit. Dawson Griffin (Saint John, NB) entered the game in the 6th and went on the toss 2 hitless innings to end the game.
Manitoba 8 Prince Edward Island 7
Manitoba and PEI competed hard in a close game that ended in a 8-7 win for Manitoba. The teams combined for 17 hits in the offensive battle. Manitoba’s Cody Bartel (Blumenort, MB) was awarded the win after 5.1 innings on the mound in the start. Bartel allowed 5 runs, though only 2 earned, on 3 walks and 3 hits. 8 different players got hits for Manitoba including 2 off the bat of Liam Giesbrecht (Winkler, MB) who also drove in a run in the game. Jared Spearing (Winnipeg, MB) and Ian Briscoe (Winnipeg, MB) contributed to Manitoba’s offence with a triple each. PEI’s starter Patrick Gallant (Charlottetown, PE) lasted only 1 inning on the mound allowing 3 runs on 2 walks and 2 hits. Reliever Brandon Condon (Kensington, PE) was charged with the loss after allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in 3 innings on the mound. PEI’s offence was led by Riley Gallant (Kensington, PE) who went 3 for 4 in the game with a double. Adam Filmon (Winnipeg, MB) stepped onto the mound for the final out of the 7th to prevent a comeback and get the save.
Up Next: Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are set to conclude their match-up on Saturday with 7 more games throughout the day in Saskatoon.
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