OTTAWA- Action heated up today at the Baseball Canada Cup in Saskatoon on day two of competition with eight games played.
Host Saskatchewan sits alone atop the standings in pool B with a perfect 3-0 record, while BC and Québec each sit at 2-1 in a tie for first place in pool A.
Here’s a look at all of the action from day one:
New Brunswick 5 PEI 2
New Brunswick scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to break a 1-1 tie and rode the arm of Blake Flinn (Riverview, NB) for six innings as they earned a 5-2 win over PEI. Flinn allowed only one run (unearned), four hits and struck out eight to pick up the win, while Dominic Tardif (Dieppe, NB) came on for the seventh to pick up the save. New Brunswick scored four runs in the fifth inning on four consecutive RBI singles from Tardif, Declan Buckle (Dieppe, NB), Blake Gallagher (Waasis, NB) and Jérémie Arseneau (Dieppe, NB). Darcy Affleck (Stratford, PE) struck out five in four and one-thirds innings of work for PEI.
Saskatchewan 11 Newfoundland and Labrador 1 (5 innings)
Ryan Gaab (Weyburn, SK) belted a three-run homer in the fifth as host Saskatchewan put up five runs in the inning to go up 11-1 en route to a mercy-rule win over Newfoundland and Labrador. Saskatchewan scored runs in all five innings and received three-hit games from both Brett Resch (Saskatoon, SK) and Jordan Malainey (Saskatoon, SK). Alex Galloway (Pilot Butte, SK) pitched all five innings for Saskatchewan to pick up the win. He struck out two and gave-up five hits with Newfoundland and Labrador’s run in the third being unearned as a result of an error early in the inning. Daniel Lopez-Thompson (St. John’s, NL) had a pair of hits in the loss.
Manitoba 10 Nova Scotia 0
Brady Moxham (Oakville, MB) threw six shutout innings and struck out ten, while his offence pounded-out nine hits en route to a 10-0 mercy-rule win over Nova Scotia. Manitoba opened the scoring in the fourth with a run and added another in the fifth before the floodgates opened in the sixth with an eight run outburst. Brett Harrison’s (Winnipeg, MB) two-run double highlighted the eight-run sixth that saw Manitoba record six hits and take advantage of two Nova Scotia errors. Manitoba’s Mitchell Lyall (Brandon, MB) went 2-for-4 and knocked in one run. Nova Scotia starter Reilly O’Rourke (Sydney, NS) recorded five strikeouts in three and one-third innings of work.
BC 3 Ontario 2
BC scored three runs in the third and held off a late Ontario charge to win 3-2 in a game that featured only five hits in total. Tanner Rempel (Abbotsford, BC) walked with the bases loaded to open the scoring before Tom Melenchuk (Surrey, BC) was hit by a pitch to make it 2-0. A Trevor Loftstrom (West Kelowna, BC) single made it 3-0 before Ontario got on the board in the fourth when Jeremy Orton (Ruthven, ON) scored on a wild pitch. Ontario added another run in the sixth before Matteo Vincelli (Burnaby, BC) shut the door in the seventh with a pair of strikeouts to earn the save. BC starter Will McAffer (North Vancouver, BC) went five innings without allowing an earned run and fanned five to get the win.
Québec 5 Alberta 3 (8 innings)
Québec took advantage of a wild pitch with a runner on third in the top of the eighth, added another run and then held Alberta off the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning to escape with a 5-3 extra-innings win. After Alberta jumped ahead by one in the second, Québec came back with a run in each of the third and fourth frames to take the lead. Alberta came back to tie the score in the bottom of the fourth only to see Québec regain the lead in the fifth. The pesky Albertans came back once again with a run in the bottom of the inning that ultimately sent the game to extras. Cedrik Pellerin (Val D’Or, QC) and Luca Portolese (St-Leonard, QC) each had two hits for Québec, while Matthew Chiz (Pointe-Claire, QC) collected two RBI. Hugo Brochu (Montréal, QC) delivered three and one-third innings of scoreless relief to pick-up the win. Alberta’s Austin Watamaniuk (Westlock, AB) was 2-for-4 with one RBI in the loss.
New Brunswick 13 Newfoundland and Labrador 7
In a wild-one, New Brunswick scored seven runs in the fifth to overcome a four-run deficit and they later added three in the sixth to defeat Newfoundland and Labrador 13-7, and in doing so picked up their second win of the day. New Brunswick received solid offensive contributions from Blake Gallagher (Waasis, NB) and Kyle Jewell (Salisbury, NB) who each drove in three runs, while Nate Ronan (Riverview, NB) tossed two and one-third innings of relief to get the win. Parker Gulliver (St. John’s, NL) and Riley King (Gander, NL) each drove in a pair in the loss.
PEI 5 Manitoba 3
Brandon Watts (Hampshire, PE) came through with a clutch, one-out single in the bottom of the sixth that scored two runs to break a 3-3 tie as PEI went on to defeat Manitoba 5-3. Manitoba had an early lead before PEI took the lead in the second only to see Manitoba come back and tie the score on two occasions. Darcy Affleck (Stratford, PE) kept swinging a hot bad contributing a single and one RBI, while Porter Smith (Cornwall, PE) tossed three scoreless innings in relief to earn the win. Manitoba was led offensively by Mitchell Lyall (Brandon, MB) who went 3-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. Manitoba starter Evan Funk (Winnipeg, MB) went six innings and was charged with three earned runs, while fanning six.
Saskatchewan 11 Nova Scotia 2
Brayden Resch (Saskatoon, SK) drilled a three-run homer in the fourth as part of a four-run inning to propel undefeated Saskatchewan to their second win of the day with a 9-2 victory over Nova Scotia. Brett Resch (Saskatoon, SK0 also had a nice day at the plate with two hits and two RBI, while Brett Esau (Meadow Lake, SK) went 3-for-3 with a run scored and one RBI. Ryan Gabb (Weyburn, SK) also knocked in a pair of runs as Saskatchewan smacked-out 12 hits and received solid pitching performances from Zack Demchenko (Saskatoon, SK0 and Griffin Keller (Pilot Butte, SK).
Up Next: Tournament play continues tomorrow with seven games scheduled that will surely impact the playoff picture. Action begins at 10:30am EST.
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