Kindersley, SK- For the third consecutive day, rain wreaked havoc at the Baseball Canada Cup causing a delay of games. Eventually the round-robin portion of the tournament did conclude. The following is a recap of all six games that were played on Day 4.
Game 22: Alberta-6 Saskatchewan-2
Alberta (4-0) jumped out to a 5 run lead in the top of the 1st inning and sailed the rest of the way to defeat Saskatchewan (2-2) by a score of 6-2. The inning was highlighted by a James Stewart (Calgary, AB) single that scored 2 runs. Brendan Hendricks (Cochrane, AB) doubled in the 5th inning, stole 3rd and was singled home by Ryan Kosolofski (Edmonton, AB) for Alberta’s 6th run. Matt MacDougall (Calgary, AB) had a solid outing on the mound pitching a complete-game 4 hitter where he struck-out 4. For Saskatchewan, Graeme Scott (Saskatoon, SK) smashed a 2 run homer in the 6th inning.
Game 24: Manitoba-10 PEI-0 (6 innings)
Manitoba (2-3) scored in all but two innings and benefitted from seven errors made by PEI (2-3) for a 10-0 victory. The game was called in the 6th inning due to the 10 run mercy rule. Although the Manitoba offence scored 10 runs the story of the game was Manitoba pitcher Zane Sawyer (Virden, MB) who pitched 6 innings and only gave up 1 hit while striking out 6 batters. Chris Shaw (Winnipeg, MB) and Ryan Ozunko (Winnipeg, MB) each had 2 hits and 2 RBI.
Game 25: BC-10 New Brunswick-2
New Brunswick (0-6) continued to struggle in Pool A as they were humbled by BC (5-1) 10-2. BC scored 4 times in the 2nd inning that included a Ricky Bertrand (Surrey, BC) RBI double, Bertrand later scored in the inning. New Brunswick would score 2 runs of their own in the 4th inning to cut the lead to two after Adam Clark (Saint John, NB) scored and Shawn Reid (Nasonworth, NB), who had previously doubled, scored on a Travis Harris (Fredericton, NB) single. BC put any hopes of a comeback to rest in the 6th when they scored 5 runs. Justin Atkinson (Surrey, BC) had an RBI single, Tyler Barlow (Maple Ridge, BC) had an RBI triple and Dustin Houle (Penticton, BC) contributed another triple that scored 2 runs. Jeff Heidema (Coquitlam, BC) was awarded the victory.
Game 26: Ontario-11 Québec-3
Ontario (5-1) clinched 1st place in Pool A by rolling to an 11-3 victory over Québec (2-4). With Ontario holding on to a 1 run lead in the 5th inning they scored 6 times to put the game out of reach. Spencer Marenette (Kingsville, ON) had the big blow of the inning connecting for a double that scored 2 runs. Later in the frame Steve Adam (Tecumseh, ON) hit a double of his own to score Marenette. Ontario used six different pitchers during the game which saw them combine to strike out 9 Québec batters. Miguel Comtois (Le Gardeur, QC) had 2 hits and RBI in a losing cause for Québec.
Game 27: Alberta-13 Newfoundland-0 (5 innings)
Alberta (5-0) scored 9 times in the top of the first and solidified themselves as a contender with a 13-0 drubbing of Newfoundland (1-4). Alberta had 5 hits in the inning that saw James Stewart (Calgary, AB) and Cory Scammell (Edmonton, AB) collect 2 RBI each. Carter Ulliac (Fort McMurray, AB) picked up the win as he last 4 1/3 innings allowing 4 hits, walking 1 and striking out 6.
Game 23: Saskatchewan-5 Nova Scotia-2
Down by 2 runs in the 6th inning, Saskatchewan (3-2) scored 5 times to earn a 5-2 come from behind victory over Nova Scotia (2-3). The win clinched 2nd place in Pool B for the host province and will see them play Québec in the quarter-final game. James Dombrowsky (Avonlea, SK) hit a bases clearing double to highlight the 5 run 6th. Nova Scotia built a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning on the strength of a run by Colby Turple (Kennetcook, NS) and an Alex Ostrov (Timberlea, NS) RBI single. On the mound Nova Scotia’s Sean Harvie (Kennetcook, NS) had a strong outing pitching 5 innings allowing 5 hits and striking out 5 batters. Harvie was replaced in the 6th by Justin Davies (Hammonds Plains, NS) who gave up all 5 runs and took the loss. Dylan Kozak (Regina, SK) tossed the win for Saskatchewan while Payton Hillsdon (Moose Jaw, SK) picked up the save.
Notes: The medal round and placement games will commence on August 15th, please check http://www.baseball.ca/cup/ for game times and match-ups. ... The Baseball Canada Cup has been getting massive hits from the Pointstreak live scoring coverage, where you can follow all of the action live by visiting: http://baseballcanada.bbstats.pointstreak.com/scoreboard.html?leagueid=110&seasonid=369. ...You can also access Pointstreak from your Smartphone by installing the Pointstreak application on http://www.pointstreak.com
