OTTAWA- It was another exciting day of action at the Baseball Canada National Championships that featured a thrilling matchup between Saskatoon (SK1) and Okotoks (AB1) that saw Saskatoon erase a 14-run deficit en route to a 17-16 win. For more information on this game, and all other games played today, please see below.
For an early recap of game, please click here.
18U
Ontario 7 Saskatchewan 3
Ontario registered its first win of the tournament Friday afternoon, defeating Saskatchewan 7-3 thanks to the hot bat of Scott Hutter (London) who recorded three hits. Hutter homered in the 4th inning and added two singles, while pitcher Matt Bowden (London) took care of the rest by limiting Saskatchewan to 4 hits in 7 innings.
Nova Scotia 9 Newfoundland & Labrador 2
Keegan Gaskell (Hammonds Plains), Dustin Harvie (Kennetcook), and Dylan Maclean (Antigonish) each recorded two hits to help Nova Scotia defeat Newfoundland and Labrador. Logan Dowe (Amherst) was solid on the mound for Nova Scotia, striking out 9 through 6.1 innings.
Alberta2 Quebec 2 0
Both starting pitchers were solid on the mound for their respective teams in this 5 hit ball game. Despite the lost, Maxime Dumas (Quebec) was on the mound for six innings, and only allowed one hit while striking out 8. Taran Oulton (St. Albert) was just as good, limiting the opposing team to four hits with 5 strikeouts.
British Columbia 14 Manitoba 4
British Columbia scored six runs in the second inning, thanks to a couple of 2-out singles. They didn’t slow down from there, adding 2 runs in the third, 1 in the fourth, and two more in the fifth en route to a 14-4 victory over Manitoba. Cohen Bogart (Chiliwack) led the way with two hits, including his second triple of the tournament. Evan Bannister (Port Coquitlam) and Trent Loewen were also solid on the mound, limiting Manitoba to only two hits.
Prince Edward Island 9 New Brunswick 8
Despite scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, New Brunswick fell just short against Prince Edward Island. Darcy Affleck (Stanhope) was perfect with the bat, going 3 for 3 with two doubles. Affleck was also called upon to close things out, allowing two hits and striking out 4 in two innings of work. Note that for New Brunswick, Corey Kavanagh (Fredericton) and Nick Noel (Miramichi) both registered two hits.
13U National Western
Saskatoon (SK1) 9 North Winnipeg (MB2) 8
Down 8-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Saskatoon showed great resilience to earn themselves the walk-off win. Already with three hits in the game, Joshua Malainey (Saskatoon) stepped up to the plate and delivered the game winning single that scored Blake Pongracz (Saskatoon) and Brett Robertson (Saskatoon). Despite his team falling just short, Kevin Burnett (East Selkirk) recorded three hits for North Winnipeg.
Pembina Hills (MB1) 4 Cloverdale (BC1) 3
Only a couple of hours after Saskatoon’s walk-off win against North Winnipeg, another game was decided in the seventh inning. Cloverdale was unable to close out the game in the top of the seventh. After Ben McCartney (Macdonald), and Zaine McConnell (Carberry) got on base to start the inning, both later scored following a wild pitch and a 1-4 putout. Note that Both starting pitchers Matt Boychuk (Oakland) and Rhys Folick (Cloverdale) did well on the mound, striking out a combined 8 hitters.
Regina (SK2) 11 Calgary (AB2) 1
Dylan Edmands (Regina) came up big for Regina, striking out 9 batters in 5.1 innings of work. Foster Hilchey (Emerald Park) provided some offense with 3 hits, while Dylan Edmands (Regina) and Kendall Keller (Pilot Butte) added a pair each.
North Winnipeg (MB2)16 South Central (Host) 6
North Winnipeg really got rolling in the later innings, scoring 5 runs in the fifth and 8 in the sixth to put the game out of reach for South Central. Earl Masanque had a perfect evening at the plate going 4 for 4, while teammate Christian Ingram recorded three hits. Note that every hitter for North Winnipeg recorded at least one hit in this one sided affair.
Saskatoon (SK1) 17 Okotoks (AB1) 16
In an incredible turn of events, Saskatoon pulled off an astonishing feat by beating Okotoks 17-16 on a walk-off homerun. After 2 innings, Okotoks had a comfortable 16-2 lead to work with. That’s when the real fun began, as Saskatoon slowly climbed back into it with 5 runs in the third, 5 in the fourth, and 1 in the fifth. With the score 16-13 going into the bottom of the seventh, the miracle comeback was about to be complete. After scoring one run on Joshua Malainey’s (Saskatoon) fifth hit of the game, Blake Richens (Saskatoon) came up to the plate with runners on first and second. Richens swung through a first pitch strike, before belting the 0-1 offering over the fence, giving his team the 17-16 victory.
Senior Women
Ontario 14 Québec 2 0
Ontario needed only 5 innings to defeat Québec 2 in this one-sided affair, as 8 different players managed to put the ball into play at least one. Jennifer Gilroy (Mississauga) led the way with three hits, while Ashley Stephenson (Oakville) recorded two. Ontario put together 10 runs in a fourth inning that saw all nine Ontario hitters step up to the plate before the first out was made. Pitchers Kathryn Kennaley (Burlington) and Tylin Lee (Toronto) combined for 7 strikeouts, limiting Quebec 2 to 5 hits.
Quebec 10 British Columbia 2 0
Quebec pounded 14 hits en route to a 10-0 victory in 5 innings. The bats were alive throughout the game, as each inning saw Quebec score at least two runs, with four coming in the third. The heart of the lineup was especially clutch for Quebec, as Rosie Lyard (Quebec), Stéphanie Savoie (Lapocatiere), and Gabrielle Perreault (Quebec) combined for six hits.
British Columbia 13 Nova Scotia 1
The last game of the day at Whalley Athlectic Park was also decided in 5 innings. British Columbia pounded 12 hits and thanks to a 9-run third inning, easily defeated Nova Scotia. Four players recorded at least two hits, with hometown girl Claire Eccles (Surrey) leading the way with 4 RBIs. Taylor Knight (North Vancouver) and Maryse Garcia (Surrey) joined efforts on the mound to limit Nova Scotia to only 2 hits.
Notes: The 21U Baseball Canada National Championship in Dartmouth, NS causing the postponement of all games on day two of competition. Organizers are working to reschedule games and will post at baseball.ca/21U.
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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