OTTAWA-If today was any indication of what the final day of competition will be like, fans are in for a treat, as four different Baseball Canada National Championships will be decided tomorrow.
Semi-final match-up s are set at the 15U Boys, 16U Girls Invitational and Senior Men events, while gold and bronze medal match-ups are already set at the 13U National Championship in London, Ontario.
Here’s a look at games played today.
13U
Semi-final #1: Ontario 15 Alberta 8
Ontario looked to remain perfect against Alberta and punch their ticket to the gold medal game. They did just that against Alberta, thanks to a 10 hit performance highlighted by some timely runs in the latter innings. Stanley Dean (Harrow) was clutch throughout the game, punching in 6 RBIs with a three hit performance. Dean was just as reliable on the mound, striking out 4 when asked to come in relief for the last two innings. Ontario will take on British Columbia tomorrow for the gold medal starting at 2:00 PM. The bronze medal matchup will be played at 11:00 AM between London and Alberta at Stronach Stadium.
Semi-final #2: BC 7 London 0
Ryan Blight (Coquitlam) and Kevin Kim (Abbotsford) put on a show during this semi-final match between British Columbia and London. Both pitchers were impressive, combining for a total 13 strikeouts and allowing only two hits in the process. The offense provided both pitchers plenty of run support. Leading the way was first baseman Ryan Blight (Coquitlam) with two doubles and three RBIs. Blight continues to swing a hot bat, maintaining a batting average over .500 during the tournament. Dayton Peters (Abbotsford) also had a productive evening with a couple of doubles. British Columbia will take on Ontario tomorrow for the gold medal starting at 2:00 PM at Stronach Stadium. The bronze medal matchup will be played at 11:00 AM between London and Alberta at Stronach Stadium.
In placement games, Quebec2 beat Quebec 3-1 to get fifth place, while Atlantic beat Saskatchewan 6-2 to get 7th.
15U
Quarter-final: BC 14 Saskatchewan 2
Liam Vulcano (Surrey) struck out ten over six innings and drove in three runs to lead BC to a 14-2 win over Saskatchewan and a spot in the semi-finals. Dawson Gray (White Rock) also had a game to remember driving in four runs hitting a single, double and triple, while also scoring two runs. BC led by five after one inning and increased their lead to 11-3 after three innings.
Ontario 7 Québec 2
Connor Lipinski (Toronto) didn’t allow an earned run over seven innings and struck out seven to lead Ontario to a 7-2 win over Québec. Lipinski scattered six hits and saw his offence break a 2-2 tie with four runs in the fourth highlighted by a Ryan Macisaac (Mississauga) two-run single.
Vaughan 3 BC 0
Host Vaughan continued to show that they mean business between the white lines, as they remained undefeated with a one-hit, 3-0 shutout win over BC. Ornello Iannace (Woodbridge) tossed five innings and gave up only one hit, while Stephen Barclay (Markham) contributed two scoreless innings in relief. Vaughan scored all three of their runs in the first with RBI doubles coming from Ryan Kula (Toronto) and Danny Mahoney (Toronto).
New Brunswick 12 Newfoundland and Labrador 0
Adam Estey Fredericton) hit his second home run of the tournament and drove in four runs as New Brunswick held Newfoundland and Labrador to just two hits in a 12-0 win. Zack Newman (Miramichi) had a 4-for-4 game with a double and one RBI and also tossed three and a third shutout innings on the mound with four strikeouts.
Nova Scotia 10 Manitoba 2
Nova Scotia jumped out to an early lead scoring four in the first and three in the second en route to a 10-2 win over Manitoba. Their offence was led Connor Snarr (Upper Tantallon) who went 2-for-3 with a double and scored two runs, while Jaden Griffin (Lower Sackville) picked up the win on the mound to go along with two RBI.
PEI 5 Saskatchewan 4
PEI led by three after two innings and eventually held off a later surge from Saskatchewan to escape with a 5-4 win. The Islanders scored four in the first thanks to three Saskatchewan errors before adding another in the third. Both Kallum Muirhead (Charlottetown) and Logan MacDougall (Summerside) collected two hits apiece for PEI, while Jared Binsfeld (Saskatoon) and Chace Davidson (Saskatoon) each doubled for Saskatchewan. Muirhead earned the win for PEI going six innings with six strikeouts.
Ontario 15 Alberta 5
Ontario stormed out of the gate scoring six times in the first inning and later added some insurance runs as they defeated Alberta 15-5. The offence was led by Zack Panek (Mississauga) who drove in four runs and went 2-for-3 with a double, while Mitch Osborne (Whitby) and Ryan Macisaac (Mississauga) each had two hits and one RBI. Robbie Holmes (Beaumont) went 3-for-3 with two RBI for Alberta.
16U Girls Invitational
Manitoba 11 Alberta 8
Alberta took a 6-4 lead into the fifth inning until Manitoba pounded 3 runs, before adding 4 more in the sixth. Caitlin Wilkinson (Eddystone) got things started with an RBI double, followed by an RBI triple from Jade Ledochowski (Teulon) that scored Wilkinson. Ledochowski also did a stellar job on the mound, pitching just a little over 5 innings and recording 10 strikeouts, while limiting the opposition to 6 hits.
Nova Scotia 17 Newfoundland 1
Nova Scotia registered 17 hits to power through Newfoundland by the score of 17 -1. The top of the lineup was a threat throughout the game for Nova Scotia, as Maria Roy (Hammonds Plains), Raelea Nickerson (Lower Sackville) and Jenna Jackson (Steam Mill) combined for 10 Hits and 6 RBIs. Pitcher Katie Hagen (Dartmouth) was credited with the victory, allowing only three hits with 9 strikeouts.
Ontario 27 Saskatchewan 7
Ontario has yet scored less than 15 runs in a game so far at the 16U Nationals, and the domination continued Saturday against Saskatchewan. Six different Ontario hitters registered at least two hits in this one sided affair, for a grand total of 22 hits good for the 27-7 victory. Hailey Boyd (Port Dover) and Jessica McPherson (Essex) had 4 RBIs each, while second base Stephanie Ellis (Brantford) went 4 for 5 with 3 RBIs. Ontario will square off against Manitoba tomorrow in the first semi-final game starting at 9:00 AM at Stade Arvida.
Quebec 17 British Columbia 7
Juliette Thomson (Ste-Julie), Arianne Levesque (L’Assomption) and Pascale Jalbert (St-Honore) combined for 8 hits and 7 RBIs in this 17-7 win. Catcher Ann-Sophie Tremblay (Jonquière) went 4 for 5 and scored three times. Quebec pounded 21 hits on British Columbia, who were simply outplayed in the last three innings of the game as Quebec scored 3 in the fourth, 3 in the fifth, and six in the sixth. Quebec will square off against Nova Scotia tomorrow in the second semi-final game starting at 12:00 PM at Stade Arvida.
Quebec (2) 20 Newfoundland and Labrador 14
Newfoundland and Labrador came out hungry in this one, scoring 11 runs in the first three innings and jumping to a quick 11-4 lead over Quebec 2. After Newfoundland and Labrador added one more run on a balk call in the top of the fourth inning that scored Victoria Curran (Mount Pearl), Quebec 2 would reply in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the fourth scoring 10 runs. Quebec 2 added two more in the fifth and 4 in the sixth, winning 20-14. Karine Lafontaine (Blainville) had three hits and three RBIs, and was a key factor on the mound pitching 4 innings and striking out 6 while allowing only two hits.
Senior Men
Quarterfinal #1: Ontario (2) 7 Alberta 1
It was quite a day for Ontario (2) as they picked up their third hit of the day, this one a 7-1 win in the quarterfinals where Jordan Petruska (Mississauga) pitched a complete-game gem. Petruska didn’t allow an earned run and gave up only two hits, while he fanned three to get the win. Ontario (2) scored all the runs they would need in the second on a Johnny Broll (Mississauga) double and RBI ground out from Jerome Smith (Mississauga) who later doubled and scored a run.
Quarterfinal #2: New Brunswick 4 Nova Scotia 3 (10 innings)
This one was a classic as it took ten innings to decide with New Brunswick walking-off with a 4-3 win in the bottom of the tenth. Dave Barr (Fredericton), who went 3-for-6, came up with a RBI single in the bottom of the tenth to end the game. Nova Scotia opened the scoring in the first before New Brunswick put three runs across in the fourth only to see Nova Scotia tie things up with two in the sixth. Two pitcher’s from each team deserve mention as New Brunswick received solid performances from Brody MacDonald (Clyde River) who fanned five over five and a third innings of work, while Shawn Reid (Fredericton) had eight strikeouts over four and two-thirds innings. Nova Scotia’s Cameron Marling (Campbell River, BC) had seven strikeouts in seven innings and Paul Doucette (Glace Bay) had two strikeouts over the final two and two-thirds innings.
Ontario (2) 2 Nova Scotia 1
Ontario (20 got their day started off on the right foot riding the arm of Paul Mckenna (Mississauga) to a 2-1 win over Nova Scotia. Mckenna pitched a complete-game with seven strikeouts and Sean Bignall (Mississauga) and Troy Black (Mississauga) each drove in runs with a single and triple, respectively. Nova Scotia’s Jeff Reeves (Peterborough, ON) had 12 strikeouts over seven innings of work.
New Brunswick 4 Saskatchewan 2
Jody Peterson (Fredericton) hit a solo homer and had three RBI to lead New Brunswick to a 4-2 win over Saskatchewan. Peterson homered in the second and added a two-run single in the third, while Jamie Walls (Miramichi) went the distance on the mound to get the win. Eric Bryce (Regina) went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in both Saskatchewan runs.
St. John’s 4 Alberta 3
A three-run third inning highlighted by a Brent Power (St. John’s) two-run single propelled host St. John’s to a 4-3 win over Alberta. Kieran Buckingham (St. John’s) was solid on the mound getting the win with five and a third innings on the mound. Alberta’s Jaret Chatwood (Red Deer) hit a two-run homer in the third inning.
BC 6 Newfoundland and Labrador 3
BC built a comfortable six run lead before Newfoundland and Labrador made things interesting scoring three in the bottom of the seventh but eventually fell 6-3. Ryan Eiswerth (Langley) was got the win tossing six and one-third innings with seven strikeouts, while Jesse Peters (Langley) had two doubles and scored two runs. Mike O’Neil (Corner Brook) had two hits including a double and drove in two for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ontario (2) 5 Manitoba 4 (8 innings)
Christopher Piccini’s (Mississauga) single scored Ian Campbell (Mississauga) with the winning run as Ontario (2) walked off with a 5-4 over Manitoba. Manitoba had erased a two-run deficit with four runs in the top of the fifth before Ontario (2) scored one in the bottom of the fifth before tying the game in the seventh on a Jerome Smith (Mississauga) single. Drew Haight (Cartwright) led the Manitoba offence with three hits, while Rory Tycoles (Reston) had two hits and drove in one. Adam Banski (Mississauga) got the win and struck out three with two innings of scoreless relief.
Ontario 19 Saskatchewan 6
Mitch Delaney (LaSalle) homered and drove in five runs to lead Ontario to a 19-6 win over Saskatchewan. Casey Power (Lakeshore) also homered and added three RBI, while Eric Cunningham (LaSalle) drove in four with a 3-for-5 game at the plate. Quinn Hersikorn (Saskatoon) hit a three-run homer for Saskatchewan in the third. Brandon Lindquist (Tecumseh) got the win for Ontario with a six-inning effort where he fanned 11.
Notes: All Baseball Canada National Championship events can be followed with live scoring courtesy of Pointstreak. The Senior Men has live streaming available. Visit baseball.ca for details.
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