Plenty of trophies were handed out on Sunday and Monday at the National Championships. British Columbia, Ontario, and Québec squads secured multiple medals across the country. All of the tournament’s host cities also made a medal game appearance, with Gatineau (21U Mens) and Cloverdale (13U National Western) winning Silver Medals.
13U National Western Championship
British Columbia came away with the Gold Medal at the 2019 13U Western Nationals after defeating the host Cloverdale Spurs 9-1. Only two games were played in Surrey Sunday along with Manitoba’s Bronze win over their secondary squad 5-2.
BC was dominant the entire tournament. They finished competition undefeated with five total wins. In the Gold Medal match, they continued to play a strong game. In the bottom of the first, BC went on an eight-run rally, capitalizing on an error and blasting three home-runs. They held Cloverdale to just one run on two hits while cruising to their big 9-1 win.
In Bronze action, Manitoba beat their second squad in a close game. The game was tight throughout, with a tie entering the sixth. Manitoba proceeded to put up three more runs while playing well in the field to pull away 5-2.
Scores:
BRONZE - Manitoba 5, Manitoba (2)
GOLD - British Columbia 9, Cloverdale (Host) 1
18U National Championship
Québec beat Ontario and took Gold after winning 8-2. The Gold Medal game was suspended in the fifth after rain fell at Labatt Park in London on Sunday night. After a 12-hour pause, the game resumed Monday and Québec finished off their victory.
Québec and Ontario were neck and neck almost all tournament as they proved to be one of the top two teams. Ontario got the better of Québec in their first meeting on Saturday when they came back and won in a 5-4 walk-off. The tables turned when playing for Gold as Québec held Ontario’s bats to just four hits while collecting ten themselves.
The Bronze Medal contest saw British Columbia prevent the host London Badgers from acquiring their third consecutive medal at the 18U Championships. After trailing for the first five innings, BC rallied for eight runs in the seventh and eighth.
Scores:
Prince Edward Island 2, Nova Scotia 1
Alberta 5, New Brunswick 3
SF - Ontario 3, British Columbia 1
SF - Québec 6, London (Host) 1
BRONZE - British Columbia 8, London 2 (Host)
GOLD - Québec 8, Ontario 2
21U Men’s National Championship
Ontario (2) defeated the host Gatineau 9-6 to capture Gold at the 2019 21U Men’s National Championship. Québec also took Bronze over Ontario (1) in a big 14-1 win.
Gatineau and Ontario (2) upset the higher ranking Québec and Ontario (1) in Semis to compete for Gold. Gatineau got an early 5-0 lead and looked to secure the championship on home field. Later on though, Ontario poured on offence and scored nine runs after the third. Ontario out-hit Gatineau 19-6 in their comeback victory.
Québec took the Bronze Medal game 14-1 over Ontario (1) by mercy rule. The hit totals matched the score with Ontario managing only one hit while allowing four errors. Québec was arguably the favourite to win it all after going undefeated until their Semi-Final upset by Gatineau. They finished the tournament with a 4-1 record.
Scores:
Manitoba 6, Nova Scotia 3
SF - Gatineau (Host) 1, Québec 0
New Brunswick 4, Saskatchewan 2
SF - Ontario (2) 3, Ontario 0
BRONZE - Québec 14, Ontario 1
GOLD - Ontario (2) 9, Gatineau (Host) 6
