New Brunswick earned a date with BC in the semi-finals when they topped Windsor (Onatrio-2) 3-1 in the first quarter-final game at the Senior Men’s championship in Dartmouth, NS. All of New Brunswick’s runs came in the 4th inning, two of which were unearned. Things got started when John Burns (Fredericton, ON) hit an RBI double to break the scoreless tie. Windsor got on the board in the 5th to cut the lead to two, but that’s as close as they would get. Shawn O’toole (Saint John, NB) pitched 6 2/3 innings and struck out six to earn the win while Ben Higgins (Moncton, NB) struck out the final batter of the game to record the save.
Manitoba booked their ticket the semi’s with a convincing 6-2 win over Red Deer (Alberta-1). Manitoba rode the right arm of Justin Funk (Brandon, MB) who provided 5 1/3 innings of solid work on the mound that saw him give up two runs, scatter five hits and strikeout nine to record the win. With Manitoba holding a slight 2-1 lead they struck for four runs in the top of the 6th inning. With the score 3-1 Kevin McNeill (Carberry, MB) hammered a three-run homer to give his mates a four run cushion. Red Deer would score one run in the bottom of the frame, but that’s as close as they would get as Manitoba shut them down the rest of the way. Manitoba will now face the host Dartmouth club in the other semi-final.
In earlier round-robin games, Windsor (Onatrio-2) scored eight runs in the bottom of the 7th to defeat Fort Saskatchewan (Alberta-2) 14-12. The final blow was delivered by Justin Pennell (Toronto, ON) who hit a walk-off grand slam to end the game.
BC pounded Nova Scotia 13-5 which saw their offence record fourteen hits. Brian Briscoe (North Vancouver, BC) and Devon Franklin (Delta, BC) each had two hits and two RBI. Corey Stang (Surrey, BC) contributed three RBI.
Dartmouth earned a bye directly to the semi-finals when the handily defeated Newfoundland 7-1. Craig Langille (Bedford, NS) went the distance on the mound and struck out seven batters. Darren Doucette (Dartmouth, NS), Greg West (Dartmouth, NS) and Matt Thomas (Dartmouth, NS) all homered in the game for Dartmouth.
Mike Ronnie (Red Deer, AB) and Jaret Chatwood (Red Deer, AB) each had three hits and an RBI as Red Deer (Alberta-2) easily defeated New Brunswick 13-7.
Manitoba scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th to come from behind and edge Windsor (Ontario-2) 6-5. Jason Rae (Brandon, MB) scored the winning run on an error in the Windsor outfield.
Ilderton (Ontario-1) recorded their first win of the tournament when they beat Nova Scotia 5-2. Kevin Annett (London, ON) and Bob Grant (Lucan, ON) led the offence for Ilderton with two hits and an RBI apiece.
