OTTAWA-It was a busy day at four different Baseball Canada National Championships with playoff action getting underway at two events, while round –robin games took on even more meaning with playoff implications at the other two events.
The 21U National Championship in Dartmouth, NS got back on track after rain-washed out all games on Friday. Medal games will be played on Monday to accommodate the new schedule
Here’s a look at all of the action from Saturday:
13U National Western
Pembina Hills 9 Regina 5
A tiebreaker game took place between Pembina Hills and Regina to decide second spot in Pool A and Pembina Hills came out on top 9-5. Joey Moffatt (Portage) got his team off to a good start smacking a two-run homer in the top of the first and he also got the win on the mound giving up two earned runs and striking out three over four innings. Dylan Edmands (Regina) had two including a double and drove in one run in the loss.
Pembina Hills 8 Saskatoon 4
Pembina Hills kept the momentum going from their tiebreaker win and doubled up Saskatoon 8-4 to earn a trip to Sunday’s gold medal game. Tanner Boyle (Portage) gave Pembina Hills a solid start on the mound working three and one-third innings where he fanned three and gave up just one run, while also contributing a double and RBI at the plate. Jordan Lussier (Winnipeg) had a pair of doubles and drove in two runs, while Joshua Malainey (Saskatoon) and Brayden Lindsay (Saskatoon) had three hits each for Saskatoon).
Cloverdale 12 North Winnipeg 4
Jonathan McGill (Richmond) allowed 12 hits over five and one-third innings, but kept North Winnipeg to just four runs, while his offence gave him more than enough run support as Cloverdale earned a trip to the gold medal game with a 12-4 win over North Winnipeg. McGill struck out six and also had a 2-for-4 day at the plate with a double and scored one run, while teammate Rhys Folick (Cloverdale) had a day to remember hitting a three-run homer in the first as part of a six RBI game. Kevin Burnett (East Selkirk) went 3-for-3 with a double, one RBI and scored one run for North Winnipeg.
In placement games, Calgary got by Okotoks 17-15 to earn seventh place, while host South Central defeated Regina 16-9 to earn fifth spot.
Senior Women
Quarterfinal: Québec 13 Québec (2) 2
Québec didn’t let a two run deficit in the top of the first get in the way as they scored 13 runs in the first three innings to defeat their counterparts from their own province 13-2. Daphnee Gelinas (Repentigny) highlighted a seven-run seventh inning with a two run double as Québec took advantage of three hit batters and three walks in the inning. Gabrielle Demers (Gatineau) went four and one-third innings on the mound and struck out three as Québec ended the game after only five innings due to the mercy-rule and advanced to Sunday’s semi-final against Ontario.
Quarterfinal: BC 11 Ontario (2) 1
Amanda Asay (Prince George) went all five innings on the mound allowing just one run to lead BC to an 11-1 win over Ontario (2) to book a spot in the other semi-final against Alberta. Asay struck out five and went 1-for-3 at the plate with one RBI, while Danielle Matteucci (Fruitvale) drove in a pair of runs. Emma Carr (Toronto, ON) had two hits and scored the lone run for Ontario (2).
In other action, Alberta got by Québec 6-1 to earn first place in Pool B. Samantha Ostrom (Calgary) earned the complete-game win and Nicole Luchanski (Edmonton) had four hits including a triple.
Ontario (2) scored some late runs and escaped with a 9-5 win over BC (2). Emma Carr (Toronto) scored three runs and had two hits, while Marylena Florio (Woodbridge) scored two runs and went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Ontario kept rolling with a 1304 win over BC getting multi-hit games from Autumn Mills (Toronto), Ashley Stephenson (Oakville) and Kate Psota (Burlington). Psota drove in three, while Stephenson and Mills had two each. Cindy Saavedra (Toronto) got the win on the mound.
Marguerite Cecile (Ste Julie) tossed a complete-game three hitter and struck out four to lead Québec (2) to a 2-0-shutout win over Nova Scotia. Evelyne Verrette (Trois-Riviéres) went 2-for-2 and scored a run, while Gabrielle Lazzer (Otterburn Park) drove in both runs on a single in the second inning. Candace Slaunwhite (Terence Bay) was solid over six innings for Nova Scotia on the mound.
21U
A total of ten games were played on Saturday at the 21U National Championships that saw host Dartmouth, BC, Ontario and New Brunswick all come away with two wins. Ontario and New Brunswick sit atop their respective pool s with perfect 3-0 records.
New Brunswick used a solid pitching performance from Justin Cormier (Moncton) and received a pair of hits from Pascal McCarthy (Fredericton) who also added two RBI and scored two runs in a 9-3 win over Manitoba. Their offence kept it going later in the day getting 14 hits to earn a 19-6 win over Nova Scotia. Devin Thomas (Saint John) went 3-for-5, scored three runs and drove in two, while Nick Leggatt (Miramichi) contributed four RBI.
Host Dartmouth relied on some solid pitching efforts to record their two wins getting a complete game four-hitter from Jesse Borden (Dartmouth) in a 4-0 win over PEI, while Glen Harvie (Kennetcook) went six solid innings in a 13-3 mercy rule win over Saskatchewan. Borden registered seven strikeouts, while Harvie had five and Jesse Holman (Lower Sackville) went 3-for-5 with two RBI in the win over Saskatchewan.
Ontario also used some strong pitching performances to come out on top in their two victories using a Matt Glassman (Belle River) complete game to beat Québec 4-1. Glassman scattered five hits and struck out nine, while Keifer Quick (Leamington) had two hits including a double and drove in two. Connor Soulliere (Windsor) matched Glassman’s effort in a 9-2 win over Saskatchewan going all seven innings, allowing four hits and just one earned run, while fanning nine. Jay Peresic (Windsor) drove in three runs.
BC got back on track recording two wins after going 0-2 in their first two outings. Brandon Becking (Burnaby) allowed only four hits and one walk in a complete-game 8-0 win over Manitoba. Becking struck out seven and got all the offence he needed from Riley MacDonald (North Vancouver) who hit a solo homer in the third as part of a 3-for-3 game at the plate. BC relied on their offence a little more in a 10-5 win over Ontario (2) getting a two-run homer from Declan Murphy (Delta) and a four RBI performance from Shane Wlodarczak (Richmond)
In other games, it only took Ontario (2) five innings to get by Nova Scotia as they cruised to a 12-2 in a game that’s saw CJ Fearon (Brampton) drive in four runs.
Jean-Christophe Dupuis (Granby) threw six shutout innings and five Québec players had multi-hit games in a 10-0 win over PEI. Phil Craig-St. Louis (Gatineau) and Maxime Martin-Gagnon (St-Nicolas) each went 2-for-4 with a triple and one RBI.
18U
Quarterfinal: Québec (2) 4 Manitoba 0
Vincent Ruel (Québec City) was magnificent over seven innings twirling a three-hitter with seven strikeouts to lead Québec (2) to a 4-0 win over Manitoba and a spot in the semi-finals. Francis Gendron (Blainville) added a solo home run for Québec (2) who led 2-0 after two before adding runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.
BC and Québec both wrapped up top spot in their respective pools setting up a head-to-head match-up in the semi finals. BC defeated New Brunswick 10-0 getting a six innings effort on the mound from Brandon Jeon (Coquitlam), while Liam Godfrey (Pitt Meadows) doubled, tripled and drove in three runs.
Québec scored four runs in the third inning and came out on top over Québec (2) by a 7-2 score. Francis Desilets (Saint Maurice) had a RBI double in the third and ended the game 2-for-3.
In other action, Alberta edged Saskatchewan 5-3 as Dylan Gates (St. Albert) fanned seven over six innings to get the win; Manitoba thumped Newfoundland and Labrador 13-3 as Adam Robidoux (Binscarth) went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI and PEI defeated Nova Scotia 3-1 in eight innings as Kevin MacLeod (Peakes) drove in two in the extra frame and Sam Walsh (Eliotvale) tossed all eight innings to get the win. Nova Scotia’s Luke Muise (Yarmouth) went all eight innings, while taking the loss.
Notes: All Baseball Canada National Championship events can be followed with live scoring courtesy of Pointstreak. Both the 21U and Senior Women Invitational have a live streaming available. All four events run through Sunday, August 17th with a rain day scheduled for Monday if necessary. Visit baseball.ca for details.
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