A five-run fourth inning was the difference for Dartmouth in the gold medal game at the 13 National Atlantic Championships.
They rode that performance, along with a three-RBI game from Ty Doucette, to win the championship against fellow Nova Scotian representative Kentville Monday afternoon in Moncton.
It wasn’t an easy path to the championship round for Dartmouth. They had to begin their medal round with a game against the undefeated host team Moncton, and performed valiantly to earn an 11-4 victory.
After giving up the first three runs of the game in the first, Sam Hines and Kole Miller had an answer for Dartmouth in the second before a Lane George homer opened things for the visitors – they had a one-run lead after the second and didn’t look back.
Kentville’s semi-final performance was also no cakewalk, as they took on Summerside – the team with the most runs scored in the round robin portion of the 13U Atlantics.
Kentville had to claw back into the game after Summerside took a 6-0 lead out of the second inning. That came off a Donovan Arsenault solo homer, and a bases-clearing double for Jacob Dunn in the top of the second.
Travis Feltmate got Kentville on the board in a landmark fourth inning, with a bases-clearing double of his own to bring the score into Kentville’s favour at 7-6. The six-run inning was enough to put Kentville over the top, and into the gold medal game.
It was a close, high-scoring affair in the final game of the tournament. Dartmouth eventually struck gold via a 8-6 win, holding off a late charge from Kentville in the final inning where they had the tying run at the plate.
Scores
7/8: St. John’s (NL1) 13, Mount Pearl (NL2) 7
SF: Dartmouth (NS1) 11, Moncton (Host) 4
SF: Summerside (PE2) 10, Kentville (NS2) 11
Bronze: Moncton (Host) 5, Summerside (PE2) 8
Gold: Kentville (NS2) 6, Dartmouth (NS1) 8
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