JOSH LEWIS
The Clarion
Quebec started the 2009 Baseball Canada Cup with a bang Wednesday morning, blanking New Brunswick 10-0 in the tournament’s opening game at Flanagan Park in Kindersley.
The game was called in the bottom of the sixth inning due to the tournament’s 10-run mercy rule.
Jonathan Paquet got the start for Quebec and went five innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out five.
The team’s top three hitters in the batting order led the way at the plate. No. 3 hitter Mickael Tetreault was named team MVP after a 3-for-4 performance that saw him drive in three runs and get on base every time at the plate.
Brian Bardis, hitting second, went 3-for-4 with a walk and RBI, while leadoff man Cedrick Vallieres was 1-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases.
Adam Clark earned New Brunswick’s MVP honour after a 1-for-2 outing.
Quebec got on the board quickly, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded, Vallieres scored on a wild pitch from New Brunswick starter Shawn Reid. Bardis then crossed the plate on a single by Tetreault, who came around to score on a double by Jonathan Jones.
That was enough to chase Reid from the game after one inning, having given up three runs on three hits, two walks and two strikeouts.
The Quebeckers drove in two more runs in the third, one of them coming on a stand-up triple to left-centre field by Pierre-Alexi Perron. Quebec made it 7-0 in the fourth, with Bardis and Tetreault both driving in runs.
New Brunswick finally showed some signs of life in the top of the fifth, loading the bases, but A.J. Gosse hit into a double play to end the inning.
Quebec took a 8-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth when Simon Brisebois’ sac fly scored Bardis. Then, with the bases loaded, New Brunswick reliever Nick LeBlanc walked in two runs to end the game due to the 10-run spread.
LeBlanc surrendered three runs on two hits and five walks over two innings of work. Long reliever Corey Wood entered the game in the second inning and pitched three frames, allowing four runs on six hits and fanning four.
Maxime Carpentier-Brouillard handled the final inning on the mound for Quebec.
Quebec’s second game of the tourney comes at 4 p.m. Wednesday against British Columbia at Berard Field. New Brunswick is currently playing Ontario on Flanagan.
