Midget National Championship Alberta won six of their seven games en route to capturing the 2012 Midget National Championship. Winning their semi-final match up earlier in the day, they carried that momentum into the final and came out on top. Gold Medal Game Alberta 4 BC 1 Alberta is going home as champions! The prairie province beat their provincial neighbours to take home Gold to complete a spectacular run at the Midget National Championship. They finished the tournament with a 6-1 record losing only to BC in round-robin play, so playing them in the final provided some extra motivation. BC took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Rees Weninger (Kelowna, BC) scored on a wild pitch, but that was all the offense they would muster as Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, AB) shut the door the rest of the way. Lloyd stepped up in a big way, allowing only three hits and fanning 10 batters in a complete game masterpiece. Second baseman Eduardo Sanchez (Okotoks, AB) stepped up big offensively, driving in three of the four Alberta runs. After finishing out of medal contention last year, Alberta came into this year’s tournament looking to improve from last year. They did that. Bronze Medal Game Ontario 3 Québec City 2 Garen Stevens’ (Thorndale, ON) game winning single scored Quinton Twohey (London, ON) to send Ontario home with the Bronze medal. The game was close the whole way through as the scored stay tied from the fifth inning on until Stevens’ heroics. Pitcher Matthew Smith (London, ON) was brilliant on the mound for Ontario, allowing the two runs on only two hits in a tournament high eight innings pitched. Louis Bedard (Anciénne-Lorette, QC) pitched five solid innings, but still took the tough loss for Québec. Semi-final #1 BC 4 Québec City 3 Cole Depner (Penticton, BC) reached base on a walk and then came all the way around to score the eventual winning run to book BC’s spot in the championship final. Relief pitcher Mike Rogers (Chilliwack, BC) pitched the final three innings and performed admirably, allowing only one hit and shutting Québec City down. Leadoff hitter Frédérick D’Amour went 2/3 in a losing cause. Semi-final #2 Alberta 6 Ontario 3 Looking to punch their ticket into the final, Alberta got off to a strong start by scoring four first inning runs to set the tone early. Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, AB) was the offensive catalyst, leading the way with two hits, two RBI and one run scored. Pitchers Wyle Cunningham (Red Deer, AB) and Eric Kahl (Calgary, AB) were efficient, giving up six hits and the three runs. Chris McQueen (London, ON) put in a great effort with two hits and two RBI in a losing effort. Placement Games New Brunswick 3 PEI 0 Luc Hebert’s (Cogagne, NB) complete game shutout lifted New Brunswick past PEI for the victory. A three run third inning for New Brunswick was the difference in the game. Nova Scotia 6 Manitoba 2 Tied 2-2 heading into the fifth inning, a three run outburst from Nova Scotia lifted them past Manitoba. Catcher JG Weeks (Dartmout, NS) had two hits and a RBI in the win. Québec 7 Saskatchewan 2 A six run fifth inning pushed Québec past Saskatchewan to end the tournament on a winning note. Patrick Joe Lanz Sepulveda (Montréal, QC) had one hit and two RBI to help his team win.
