BEIJING – The Canadian Olympic Team’s medal hopes took a huge hit today as Canada would suffer another heartbreaking loss, this time at the hands of the United States by a score of 5-4 at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. The Canadians would take an early 4-0 lead, however they could not hold on to that lead as the Americans would score five unanswered runs to steal this one from the Canadians and them in a deep hole to reach the medal round. “Right now we’re trying to play a complete ballgame,” says Olympic team Manager Terry Puhl. “We hit the ball really well today and got the matchups we wanted on the mound, but their hitters got some clutch hits.” “We need to score early, keep scoring and not shut it down,” says Team Canada mainstay Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON). “We’ve got to keep the pressure on and not let them off the hook. International baseball is so unpredictable that you have to play with them pitch for pitch no matter what the score because anything can happen.” Canada started this game on fire, opening the scoring in the second inning on a RBI double from Emerson Frostad (Calgary, AB) to score Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON) and give the Canadians a 1-0 lead. The Canadians would add to that lead in the third inning, one coming on a RBI triple from Emmanuel Garcia (Montreal, QC). Garcia would later score on a RBI ground out from Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) to allow Canada to take a three run advantage. That advantage would increase to four runs in the fourth inning when Adam Stern (London, ON) drove in Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) with an RBI single to put the Canadians comfortably ahead. The Americans would begin to chip away at that lead in the bottom of the fourth, beginning with a leadoff home run from Brian Barden off of Canadian starter James Avery (Moose Jaw, SK). They would add a second run in the frame on a John Gall RBI single, cutting the Canadian lead in half. Canada would see their lead drop to one in the fifth inning as Terry Tiffee would drive in the third American run on a double and make it 4-3. The Americans would complete the comeback in the seventh inning as back-to-back RBI doubles from Braden and Tiffee and the U.S. ahead by a score of 5-4. The Canadians would threaten in the ninth inning, as they have the previous two games, however they could not cash in the tying run and Canada is now on the outside looking in for a spot in the medal round. “We have to run the table. We have no choice now,” says Puhl. “We’re going to take it one at a time and not look ahead of ourselves.” “We’re not playing poorly,” adds Puhl, “we’ve just found ourselves on the wrong end of some really good ballgames.” “The fact that there is still hope and that we’re not completely eliminated will give us motivation to get back up tomorrow,” says Clapp. “We need to win the rest of our games and it starts with our next one against Japan.” The Olympic Team will now have a day off to rest before they make their climb toward a spot in the playoffs, starting with their next opponent Japan on Monday, August 18th at 10:30 am local time in Beijing. For those following in Canada, game time is on Sunday at 10:30 pm Eastern time.
OTTAWA – The semi-finals are set in two of the three Baseball Canada National Championships that are underway, while the third will have the matchups decided on Sunday, on route to crowning three more National Champions. At the Baseball Canada Cup in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Ontario captured the top spot in Pool A putting up eight runs in the third inning on route to a 11-6 win over Québec. Eight of the nine hitters in the Ontario line-up got at least one hit in this game. In Pool B, New Brunswick earned first place by virtue of their 10-3 win over Newfoundland & Labrador. Mike Washburn (Fredericton, NB) went 4-for-4 with three RBI to lead his team to the win. Ontario and New Brunswick will now face-off in semi-final number one. By virtue of their 3-0 win over Saskatchewan, British Columbia solidified second place in Pool A and awaited the winner between Québec, who finished third in Pool A, and Alberta, who finished second in Pool B. Québec would jump out to a 6-0 lead, including a four-run second inning highlighted by three RBI doubles from Jonathan Cyr (Montreal, QC), Samuel Domingue (Québec, QC) and Alexandre Béland (Trois-Rivières, QC). Alberta would reduce the lead to one with a five-run fourth inning with the help of three-run triple from Scott Gerun (Westlock, AB) to make it 6-5. After trading two-run innings in the sixth to make it 8-7 for Québec, Alberta had one final shot to extend this game, but Jonathan Paquet (Ancienne Lorette, QC) struck out the side in the seventh inning to preserve the win for Québec. At the Bantam Boys Championship in Mascouche, Québec, British Columbia sealed their first place finish in Pool A with an unbelievable 36-1 slaughter of Newfoundland & Labrador. They scored an incredible 29 runs in the first inning in a game that lasted only three innings. Ontario captured first place in Pool B with an 11-0 win over Nova Scotia. Now British Columbia and Ontario were awaiting their opponents in the semi-finals. In the first quarter-final, Lanaudiere defeated Québec by a score to 4-1 to earn their spot in the semis, while Saskatchewan took out Manitoba 9-1 to earn a date with Ontario in the semi-finals. At the Junior Championship in Charlottetown, PEI, only one spot in the semi-final has been decided as British Columbia earned first place in Pool B. Ontario and Québec 2 will be moving on to the semi-finals in Pool A, however their seeding is yet to be determined, and they will play each other on Sunday to determine first and second. Second place in Pool B will be determined between Québec and Prince Edward Island, with an outside chance for Nova Scotia. It will all be sorted out on Sunday. Click here for complete Baseball Canada National Championships coverage.
BEIJING – The Canadian Olympic Team could not generate any offence today, as they could not solve the Korean pitcher and one hit was the difference as Canada would fall at the hands of Korea by a score of 1-0 at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. This game was a pitcher’s duel throughout as Mike Johnson (Edmonton, AB) went pitch for pitch with Korean starter Hyunjin Ryu. However it would be Ryu who would end up with the upper hand as he would pitch the complete game shutout for the win. “I just wanted to go deep into the ballgame and give us a chance to win,” says Johnson. “(Ryu) pitched really well, it was a really good head-to-head battle and I made one mistake and it was the difference in the ballgame.” Johnson had solid outing to counter Ryu, going six strong innings, allowing one run on three hits with four walks and struck out three. Johnson’s only blemish came in the third inning when Keunwoo Jeong would take a pitch deep over the left field wall for what would turn out to be the only run of the game. “It’s a tough one to swallow,” says Johnson. “One pitch and the guy capitalized on it and, again, it turned out to be the difference of the ballgame.” David Davidson (St. Catherines, ON) and T.J. Burton (Ottawa, ON) kept Canada in this game, both coming in the game in relief. Davidson threw two and one third innings of no-hit baseball, allowing only one walk with a pair of strikeouts. Burton made easy work of the Koreans in the top of the ninth, pitching two thirds with one strikeout. Canada did have some opportunities to tie this game, putting the tying run on third base in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings, but on all three occasions they could not cash the runner in. “We just couldn’t execute in key situations and it came back to bite us,” says Olympic team Manager Terry Puhl. Canada’s biggest chance to tie this game was in the ninth inning when they would get the tying run in scoring position with one, eventually loading the bases with two outs but Ryu got Ryan Radmanovich (Calgary, AB) to fly out to center field to end the game. Canada now faces a tough test as their next opponent will be the United States. Both teams will be entering this matchup with a 1-2 record and are facing a must-win situation. “We’ve had a couple of tough losses the last two nights, but the best thing we can do is put it behind us and come out and play our style of baseball and battle,” says Johnson. Canada will face-off with the United States on Saturday, August 16th at 10:30 am local time in Beijing. For those following in Canada, game time is Friday night at 10:30 pm Eastern time.
OTTAWA - There were a lot of exciting finishes today at the Baseball Canada National Championships as teams are trying to stake their claims for playoff spots. At the Baseball Canada Cup in Medicine Hat, Alberta, it took 11 innings to decide the day’s opening matchup between British Columbia and Ontario as Trevor Barton (London, ON) finally decided it with an RBI single to give Ontario the 4-3 win. A solo-home run by Sasha Lagarde (Pierrefonds, QC) in the top of the eighth inning lifted Québec to a 2-1 win over British Columbia. In a battle between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia erased a two-run deficit by scoring a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning, but would see that effort slip away as Alex Abbott (Charlottetown, PEI) would come in to score on an error in the bottom half of the frame to give PEI a 6-5 win. Alberta entered the bottom of the seventh inning against New Brunswick down by two, but they were able to reduce that deficit to one as Mitch Frey (Medicine Hat, AB) would score and give his team new life. But that is as close as they would get as Ben Sollows (Moncton, NB) would finish off Alberta with a strikeout to end the game and give New Brunswick the 6-5 win. On the other side of the spectrum, Manitoba overwhelmed Newfoundland & Labrador by a score of 29-1. Manitoba would score nine runs in the third inning and 11 runs in the fourth inning. Brenden Shearer (Winnipeg, MB) was 3-for-6 with seven RBI. In other action, Ontario defeated Saskatchewan 11-1 and Québec beat Sakatchewan 9-3. At the Junior Championship in Charlottetown, PEI, the host team and Newfoundland & Labrador battled it out for 13 innings when Luke Carmichael (Charlottetown, PEI) drove in the winning run in the top of the 13th to give Prince Edward Island a 6-5. In the remaining games, Ontario went 2-0 with a 6-2 win over New Brunswick and a 12-0 hammering of Saskatchewan. Québec defeated Newfoundland 12-0, while Québec 2 beat New Brunswick 8-2. Saskatchewan shutout Manitoba 2-0 and British Columbia topped Nova Scotia 6-1. At the Bantam Boys Championship in Mascouche, Québec, Daryl Blaskovitch (Bretnwood Bay, BC) drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to give British Columbia a 3-2 win over Saskatchewan. Benoit Frenière, Jr. (Le Gardeur, QC) and Maxime Lapointe (Lachenaie, QC) combined to throw a two-hit shutout to lead Lanaudiere over Newfoundland & Labrador to a 9-0 win. In other action, New Brunswick went 2-0 today to even their record for the tournament with a 9-4 win over Alberta and a 6-0 victory over Newfoundland & Labrador. In a high scoring affair, Québec beat Prince Edward Island 14-8, while Ontario improved to 3-0 in the tournament by doubling Manitoba 6-3. Manitoba rebounded with a 8-5 win over Nova Scotia, British Columbia won their second game of the day by a score of 7-3 over Alberta and Saskatchewan shutout Lanaudiere 3-0 to conclude the day`s schedule. Click here for complete Baseball Canada National Championships coverage.
BEIJING – In what was a back and forth battle, Canada fell just short of a big upset in the 2008 Olympic Summer Games, dropping their second game of the tournament to Cuba by a score of 7-6. The start of this game was delayed by one hour and 30 minutes due to rain, but that did not slow down either one of these teams in this matchup. Cuba opened the scoring in the second inning scoring three runs in the frame against Canadian starter Brooks McNiven (Vernon, BC). Ariel Pestano got things strated with a sacrifice fly to score Cuba’s first run, followed by an RBI double from Eduardo Paret to put the Cubans ahead by two. Paret would then score on an error to give cuba a 3-0. Canada would cut into that lead right away in the top of the third inning on a two-run home run from Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC), his second homer of the Olympics, to get the Canadians within one. Canada would waste no time to come all the way back as Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON) hit a towering home run off the top of one of the flag poles in straight away centerfield to lead off the fourth inning and tie this game up 3-3. “It was a big momentum swing for us,” says Weglarz. “We played hard and we were able to get back into the game.” Weglarz would be at it again in the top of the sixth inning. With Scott Thorman on base after reaching on an error, Weglarz would go deep for the second time in the game, this time giving his team a 5-3 lead. “I was trying to move the runner over and I put a good swing on the ball and it went out,” says Weglarz, who was 4-for-4 with the two homers, three RBI and three runs scored against Cuba. That lead however would be short lived as a pair of two-run home runs, one from Alexander Malleta and the other from Alfredo Despaigne put Cuba ahead for the second time in the game, this time by a score of 7-5. “That was obviously a huge momentum swing for them,” says Olympic team Manager Terry Puhl. “But with this team you’re never out of it, especially a two-run defecit because we can turn things around with one swing of the bat. But this is something we will be working through.” Canada would not go down without a fight. Weglarz would come in to score after reaching on his fourth hit of the game, scoring on Brett Lawrie’s (Langley, BC) fielder’s choice to make it 7-6. But that would be as close as they would get as the Cubans would retire the Canadians in order in the top of the ninth to hold on for the win. “We played a heck of a game,” says Puhl. “Now we got to come back with the same intensity tomorrow. In a way this was a missed opportunity, but I’d rather have a missed opportunity early in the tournament than late.” Next up for Canada is another tough opponent in Korea, who has already surprised some people with an upset win over the United States to open their Olympic tournament, however, Puhl is ever confident in his team. “We’ve got a big job ahead of us, but I think we’ll come out with the same intensity as we did tonight and get the same quality at-bats as we did and if we do that we can handle them.” Canada will take on Korea on Friday, August 15th at 6:00 pm local time in Beijing. For those watching in Canada, game time will be at 6:00 am on Friday.
OTTAWA – Two more Baseball Canada National Championship tournaments got underway today and one tournament’s playoff picture is becoming more jammed packed. The Junior Championship started off in Charlottetown, PEI with an exciting game to kickoff the tournament as New Brunswick would come back from a 4-0 deficit to win it in the bottom of the seventh inning by a score of 5-4 over Saskatchewan. After tying the game 4-4 in the fifth inning, New Brunswick executed a perfect seventh inning as David Crossman (Fredericton, NB) led off with a single, moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt from MacKenzie Washburn (Fredericton, NB) then driven in on a single from Ben Higgins (Moncton, NB) to win the game. Ben Bradford (Kamloops, BC) went 3-for-5 with four RBI to lead British Columbia over Prince Edward Island 11-0. In the rest of the day’s action, Québec defeated Nova Scotia 9-2, Québec 2 would go on to beat Manitoba 5-2 and the Manitoban team would not fair much better in their second game of the day, succumbing to Ontario by a score of 8-5. The Bantam Boys Championship got started in Mascouche, Québec and David Jalbert (Repentigny, QC) got his team off on the right foot, pitching six innings and allowing only one run on two hits with a pair of walks, while striking out eight to lead Lanaudiere over Alberta 4-1. Another outstanding pitching performance came from Michael Foster (Pickering, ON), who threw a complete game shutout, allowing only two hits and two walks and struck out an incredible 15 batters as Ontario would defeat Québec 2-0. In other action, Daniel Peakman (Victoria, BC) went 4-for-5 with four RBI as British Columbia would rout New Brunswick 14-3. Saskatchewan would go 2-0 on the day, beating Newfoundland & Labrador 4-2 and then drubbing Alberta 12-5. Ontario would also go 2-0 with an 8-4 win over Prince Edward Island and Lanaudiere would do the same with a 5-1 win over New Brunswick. Québec would make easy work of Manitoba, winning 11-0 and it would be a similar story for Nova Scotia who topped Prince Edward Island 10-0. On the second day of the Baseball Canada Cup, after everyone in pool A finished the first day 1-1, two teams jumped in the dirver’s seat while the other two will a little climbing to do to capture a medal round spot. Saskatchewan would hold on to beat British Columbia 3-2, while Travis Bondy (Windsor, ON) and Jasvir Rakkar (Brampton, ON) combined to throw a one-hit shutout to lead Ontario to a 6-0 win over Québec. In other action, it was a pitcher’s duel between Aaron Noel (Miramichi, NB) and Alex Abbott (Charlottetown, PEI) as both would pitch the complete game and New Brunswick would blank Prince Edward Island 1-0. New Brunswick would be involved in another barn burner as Robert Gallant (Miramichi, NB) would hit a RBI double in the top of the ninth to edge out Manitoba 5-4. However, Manitoba would come back to win in a slugfest and outlast Nova Scotia 14-9. Jean-Guy Bilodeau (Winnipeg, MB) would drive in four runs in this matchup. Alberta would improve to 3-0 in the tournament with a pair of wins today, first against Newfoundland & Labrador 14-0 and then over Prince Edward Island 5-3. For Newfoundland, it did not get much better as they would be crushed by Nova Scotia 10-0 to complete the day’s action. Click here for complete Baseball Canada National Championships coverage.
BEIJING – Canada got their quest for gold started on the right foot as they took care of business both offensively and on the mound with a convincing 10-0, eight inning mercy win over China in their opener at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. There was a bit of a feeling out period for both teams to start, but Canada got things going offensively in the fourth inning on a three-run bomb from Scott Thorman (Cambridge, ON) to put Canada ahead 3-0. “It was a situation where we were trying to be aggressive,” says Thorman about his home run. “I got a first pitch fastball. I was looking for something I could handle; got a pitch to hit and I hit it. It was great to draw first blood.” That was more than enough for Canadian starter Chris Begg (Uxbridge, ON), who went into cruise control after being given the lead. Begg would throw six and two thirds innings of shutout baseball, allowing only six hits while striking out nine Chinese hitters. “This is what I wanted to do and we needed a good performance on the mound,” says Begg. “My goal was to go out and let our bats come around and take over and then just try to keep putting up zeros on the board.” Canada would keep the pedal to the metal offensively, adding a pair of runs in the fifth inning. The first run came in on a wild pitch that allowed Emmanuel Garcia (Montreal, QC) to score from third. The second run was on a bases loaded walk to Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, ON) to cash in Adam Stern (London, ON) and put Canada ahead 5-0. The lead would increase to six in the seventh inning on a two-out RBI single from Jimmy VanOstrand (Richmond, BC) to bring in Thorman, however VanOstrand was caught trying to stretch his single to a double to end the inning. But Canada would put this game away in the eighth, scoring four times in the frame. Two runs came in on Stern’s triple. He would later score on a Stubby Clapp (Windsor, ON) sacrifice fly, then Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) would hit his first homer of the Olympics, putting Canada ahead by ten. The Canadians would get themselves in a little trouble in the bottom of the eighth when China put runners on second and third with nobody out, but Rheal Cormier (Moncton, NB) would strikeout the next three batters to preserve the shutout and the mercy win. “Begg did a wonderful job for us keeping their hitters off balance and that’s why we wanted him out there for our first one,” says Olympic team Manager Terry Puhl. “Thorman got a big hit to get us started and he is going to be a big piece for us offensively going forward.” Canada’s next matchup at the 2008 Summer Olympics will be the powerhouse from Cuba. The last time the Canadians faced the Cuban in Olympic competition, it was in that heartbreaking 8-5 loss in the semi-finals of the 2004 Olympics in Athens. “We’re looking forward (to play Cuba),” says Thorman. “We’re looking to get a big start and come out hitting the ball. Scoring 10 runs in the first game is a great confidence boost for us. We know what we’re capable of and we’re going to play nine hard innings and see what happens.” “They’re beatable! Everybody makes them out to be such a great team and I’m not in that camp” proclaims Puhl about the Cubans. “If we play well and we pitch well, we can beat them. But it is going to be a dog fight.” Canada takes on Cuba on Thursday, August 14th at 6:00pm local time in Beijing. Game time in Canada is Thursday at 6:00 am Eastern time.
OTTAWA – The Baseball Canada National Championships resumed today with the opening games of the Baseball Canada Cup in Medicine Hat, Alberta and the first day of action was full of exciting matchups and dramatic finishes. In the morning games, Nova Scotia opened its Cup tournament strong with a 5-0 win over New Brunswick. Shain Beaudreau (Cole Harbour, NS) was lights out as he would pitch a complete game, two-hitter, striking out 11 New Brunswick batters along the way. Brooklyn Foster (Langley, BC) led his team to victory with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and give British Columbia a 3-1 win over Ontario. Ontario would bounce back in their second game of the day as Todd Blair (Ajax, ON) would drive in Jeff Hunt (Cambridge, ON) for the winning run in the top of the eighth inning to outlast Saskatchewan, taking this one by a score of 4-3. British Columbia would find themselves in an extra inning game as well in their night cap with Québec. Wes Darvill (Langley, BC) led off the top of the eighth inning with a double and that would eventually cost Québec as Darvill would score on a one-out sacrifice fly from Keaton Briscoe (North Vancouver, BC) and then hold off a threatening Québec in the bottom half of the inning for a 2-1 win. In the rest of the day’s action, Québec won their first game of the tournament, a 11-2 victory over Saskatchewan. Prince Edward Island defeated Newfoundland & Labrador 6-3 and Alberta shutout Manitoba by a score of 4-0. Click here for complete Baseball Canada National Championships coverage.
OTTAWA – Two teams have been crowned National Champion in their respective divisions on the final day of the first week of the Baseball Canada National Championships. In Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ontario became the Midget National Champion by going undefeated, completing the feat in dramatic fashion in a 2-1 win over Québec. It was a pitcher’s duel between Josh Wood (Toronto, ON) and Samuel Ouellet (St-Eustache, QC), both going the complete game for their respective teams and this one would only be decided at the very end. With Québec ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, an error would cost them the lead as the tying run would cross the plate on the play. After a walk to load the bases, a walk to Brett Sanders (Toronto, ON) would drive in the winning run and give Ontario the National Title. In the Bronze medal game, British Columbia showed no mercy on Manitoba as they would make quick work of the Manitobans to earn the bronze medal in a 12-0 win. In Mascouche, Québec, British Columbia spoiled the party for the hometown favourites as they captured the Bantam Girls National Title with a 4-1 win over Québec. Jodi Hynek (Surrey, BC) and Kendra Lennie (Vancouver, BC) combined to hold Québec to one run on three hits in this matchup. Jessica Bérubé (Charlesbourg, QC) did her best to keep her team in it until the end, throwing three and one third innings, collecting eight strikeouts along the way. Saskatchewan captured the bronze medal in Mascouche with a 13-3 beating of Nova Scotia. Bailey Habshied (Wymark, SK) led the way offensively for Saskatchewan as she was 4-for-4 with four RBI, while Karli Reeve (Yorkton, SK) threw the complete game, allowing three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts. Beginning in week two of the Baseball Canada National Championships will be the Baseball Canada Cup in Medicine Hat, Alberta on August 13. Then on August 14, the Junior National Championship will commence in Charlottetown, PEI and the Bantam Boys National Championship will begin in Mascouche, Québec. Click here for complete Baseball Canada National Championships coverage.
OTTAWA – The medal round is set in Halifax at the Midget Championship, while the medal matchups have already been decided in the Bantam Girls Championship in Mascouche on day three of the Baseball Canada National Championships. Québec and British Columbia will face off for the gold in the Bantam Girls Championship in Mascouche, Québec. Québec advanced to the gold medal game by defeating Saskatchewan in the semi-finals 18-3. Jessica Bérubé (Charlesbourg, QC) went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the semi, and also threw three shutout innings, allowing only two hits while striking out seven. British Columbia advanced to the gold medal game by beating Nova Scotia 6-5 in what was a dramatic finish. With British Columbia leading 5-0 in the top of the seventh, Nova Scotia would put together a two-out, five run rally to tie it up at 5-5 on three walks and four singles, capped off by Jessica Pendergrast’s (Summerside, PEI) RBI single to drive in the tying run. But, British Columbia would not fold. With runners on first and second and one out, Jodi Hynek (Surrey, BC) drove in the winning run on a RBI single to vault her team to the gold medal game. Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia will now battle for the bronze medal prior to Sunday’s gold medal matchup. In Halifax, by virtue of finishing first in their pools, Ontario and Québec automatically advanced to the semi-finals with both of their opponents were still yet to be determined until the end of the day today. In quarter-final number one, British Columbia got some solid pitching and capitalized on five Alberta errors to move on to the semis with a 7-3 win. Jordan Kolberg (Surrey, BC) threw the complete game, allowing three run on five hits and three walks while fanning eight. In the second quarter-final, it took extra innings to settle things between Manitoba and Prince Edward Island. With the game tied 5-5 in the top of the eighth inning when Daryl Ellis (Winnipeg, MB) hit an RBI triple to drive in the winning run and move on the semi-finals. British Columbia will take the undefeated team from Ontario in semi-final number one, while Manitoba and Québec will do battle in the second semi-final. Click here for complete Baseball Canada National Championships coverage.
