Moncton-Ontario scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly to complete the comeback and beat Saskatchewan 3-2 en route to winning the Baseball Canada Cup, their seventh title in the events history.
Ontario 3 Saskatchewan 2 (Gold Medal)
Mitchell Triolo’s (Scarborough, ON) sacrifice-fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh scored Nathan DeSouza (Milton, ON) with the winning run as Ontario defeated Saskatchewan 3-2 to win the Baseball Canada Cup. Up to that point, the story of the game had been Ontario pitcher Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, ON) who entered the game in the third inning and didn’t allow a run or a hit in picking up the win and Player of the Game honours.
Saskatchewan came out of the gate strong as Jager Toffan’s (Saskatoon, SK) triple in the top of the first scored two runs to put them out to an early lead. Zack Sardellitti (Maple, ON) answered back with a solo homer in the bottom of the second to get Ontario on the scoreboard.
With Saskatchewan starter Nathan Haroldson (Regina, SK) now out of the game to start the fifth, Ontario tied the score when Jake Lumley (Windsor, ON) singled to bring in Bruce Yari (Waterloo, ON). Quantrill continued his dominance on the mound to set the stage for the theatrics in the bottom of the seventh which ultimately led to the win for Ontario.
BC 4 Manitoba 0 (Bronze Medal)
Jon Bauer (Maple Ridge, BC) tossed a one-hitter as BC blanked Manitoba 4-0 to win the Bronze Medal. BC rebounded nicely from a tough semi-final loss to Saskatchewan where they had to immediately take the field to play for Bronze. Bauer allowed only one hit, a single in the third inning and one walk, while striking out eight Manitoba batters. BC scored three times in the second inning to open the scoring which included RBI singles from Kyle Olver (Vancouver, BC) and Tyler Krahn (Abbotsford, BC). In the third, Brandon Todoruk’s (Abbotsford, BC) single brought in the fourth BC run which provided more than enough offence for Bauer. The Bronze Medal marks the twelfth straight time that BC has medalled at the Canada Cup and gives them their first Bronze since 1994 when the event was also held at Kiwanis Park in Moncton.
Ontario 2 Manitoba 0 (Semi-final)
A fantastic semi-final that featured great pitching a defence saw Ontario score two late runs to beat a pesky Manitoba side 2-0. Ontario’s Michael Clouthier (Guelph, ON) and Manitoba’s Karlin Palidwor (Winnipeg, MB) were locked in a pitcher’s duel where neither team recorded a hit through three innings. In the sixth, with Brent Silver (Winnipeg, MB) now on the mound for Manitoba, Mitchell Triolo’s (Scarborough, ON) two-out single fell into the outfield to score two Ontario runs. Dayton Dawe (London, ON) relieved Clouthier in the sixth and was able to induce a ground ball out in the seventh with two runners on base to seal the win for Ontario and propel them into the Gold Medal game.
Saskatchewan 7 BC 6 (Semi-final)
BC’s hopes for a three-peat at the Baseball Canada Cup were dashed as Saskatchewan upset the two-time defending champ 7-6 in the second semi-final of the day. Saskatchewan jumped out to a 4-0 lead, as Nolan Benesh (Regina, SK) hit a bases clearing double in the top of the second, before BC responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning. BC took the lead in the fourth when they struck for three more runs for a 6-4 lead. There was no quit in Saskatchewan though, as they scored three runs to jump ahead by one run. Jake Hersikorn (Saskatoon, SK) had a single to score Jager Toffan (Regina, SK) with the go ahead run. From there the ball was in Brandon Radmacher’s (White City, SK) hand that shut BC down to book Saskatchewan a date with Ontario in the Gold Medal game. BC’s Billy Germaine (Aldergrove, BC) had two hits and scored two runs while Clayton Isherwood (Van Anda, BC) pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out two in a relief role. The loss marked the first time that BC has not played for Gold at the Canada Cup since 1999.
Tournament All-Star Team
C- Chris Shaw (Manitoba)
INF-Guillaume Gingras (Québec)
INF-Mitchell Triolo (Ontario)
INF-Jesse Hodges (BC)
INF-Johnny Caputo (Ontario)
OF-Brett Siddall (Ontario)
OF-Jacob Robson (Ontario)
OF-Jager Toffan (Saskatchewan)
P-Cal Quantrill (Ontario)
P-Clayton Isherwood (BC)
Top Hitter-Kohl Bauml (Saskatchewan)
Top Catcher- Chris Shaw (Manitoba)
Top Defensive Player-Jesse Hodges (BC)
Notes: Placement games were also played on Sunday that saw PEI top Newfoundland 16-9 to claim 9th place; Nova Scotia edged New Brunswick 5-4 in the 7th place game while Québec took 5th place with a 7-4 win over Alberta…Two more National Championships are scheduled for this week as the Junior event takes place in Windsor, ON and the Midget tournament is set to take place in Regina, SK…Both events begin on August 18th and all of the action can be followed live on Poinstreak.com!
