SHERBROOKE- The Canada Games baseball competition began today with seven games played at three different ballparks in around the greater Sherbrooke area.
BC had a great day picking up two wins, while New Brunswick, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Saskatchewan were also victorious on day one.
New Brunswick 5 Saskatchewan 4
New Brunswick came back with a four run inning to tie the game. After one out in the 7th inning, Blake Gallager (Wassis, NB) brought home Mitchell Hazlett (Riverview, NB). Hazlett had previously reached base on a walk.
Saskatchewan was the first to get on board. During the 3rd inning, Carver Karafchuk (Weyburn, SK) reached first base with a base hit. He then scored after the New Brunswick infielders made an error. In the fourth inning, Saskatchewan scored three times to take a 4-0 lead. Cole Warken (Regina, SK), Wyatt Schlosser (Saskatoon, SK) and Cole Warken (Regina, SK) crossed home plate.
But Ryan Bartley (Moncton NB) hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to score teammates Kyle Donahoe (Riverview, NB) Mitchell Hazlett (Riverview, NB) and Corey Ouellette (Fredericton, NB).
Manitoba 6 Nova Scotia 3
Ben Onyshko (Winnipeg, MB) went 6 2/3 inning striking out ten as Manitoba bested Nova Scotia 6-3. Manitoba jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first with the big blow coming in the form of a Brett Harrison (Winnipeg, MB) three-run double. Jordan Gomes (Dartmouth, NS) was 3-for4 with two doubles and an RBI for Nova Scotia.
Newfoundland & Labrador 5 PEI 3
Travis Taylor (Corner Brook, NL) had three hits and an RBI and also tossed two scoreless innings on the mound as Newfoundland and Labrador earned a 5-3 victory over PEI. Matt Murphy (St. John’s, NL) picked up the win on the mound throwing five strong innings allowing two only two earned runs.
Ontario 5 Québec 4
Ontario scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh overcoming a three run deficit to walk-off with a 5-4 win over Québec. Nicholas O’Neil (Oldcastle, ON) had a two-run double in the decisive seventh, while two more runs scored on a Québec error. Ontario received strong pitching performances from Matt Ianni (Nepean, ON), Garik Godard (Belle River, ON) and Alec Miller (Chatham, ON), while Québec starter Alexis Lavergne (Gatineau, QC) tossed five scoreless innings.
BC 12 Alberta 2
BC pounded out 11 hits and Kurtis Horne (Sooke, BC) provided six solid innings on the mound as they went on to defeat Alberta 12-2. Horner struck out six and Max Wood (West Vancouver, BC) went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI.
Saskatchewan 5 Nova Scotia 2
Jared Libke (Saskatoon, SK) was the story on the mound coming an out away from tossing a no-hitter as Saskatchewan held on for a 5-3 win over Nova Scotia. Libke walked three and struck out eight in picking up the win. Jager Toffan (Regina, SK) had an RBI double, while Brayden Resch (Saskatoon, SK) had a single and two RBI.
BC 5 Québec 4
Host Québec dropped their second 5-4 decision of the day, this time at the hands of a BC squad who picked up their second win of the day. Colton Wood (Victoria, BC) went 5 2/3 innings on the mound in picking up the win and Justin Lawrence (Surrey, BC) had a single, double and picked-up and RBI. Québec’s Charles Leblanc (Laval, QC) had two doubles in the loss.
Notes: Action continues tomorrow with another seven games on the schedule. Games can be followed live with live stats provided by Pointstreak at www.baseball.ca/games. Select games can also be seen live atwww.canadagames.tv
