OTTAWA – Medals are on the line Monday in the last day of competition at the Baseball Canada Cup and competition is really heating up. Host Saskatchewan took on Ontario while defending champs British Columbia took on Québec in the two semi-finals.
Placement games were played between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia as well as Alberta and New Brunswick to decide on the final standings for the championship.
Here’s a look at some of the action from day five:
Saskatchewan 4 Ontario 3
Host Saskatchewan topped Ontario in the first semi-final match-up of the day with a huge come from behind victory. Ontario took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the 2nd with an RBI single from Ari Sechopoulos (Windsor, ON). Zachary Fascia (Brampton, ON) scored shortly after on a balk. They increased their lead to 3 an inning later when Luke Turino came in to score. Saskatchewan’s starting pitcher Carson Perkins (Bienfait, SK) shut them down after that. Perkins pitched a complete game allowing 3 runs on 2 walks and 4 hits while striking out 2. Saskatchewan’s comeback began in the top of the 4th when Danny Berg (Saskatoon, SK) came in to score. They then erased the deficit in the top of the 5th thanks to an RBI double from Brody Frerichs (Muenster, SK) who would later score on a single from Bryce Rueve (Muenster, SK). Ontario starting pitcher Niall Windeler (Toronto, ON) lasted 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk. Mateos Kekatos (Toronto, ON) came in as a reliever put failed to shut down Saskatchewan’s offence. They completed the comeback in the 7th when Rueve drove in the go ahead run and Ontario was shut out in the bottom.
Nova Scotia 10 Newfoundland and Labrador 5
Newfoundland got the first lead of the game when Dylan MacKenzie (St. John’s, NL) scored on a wild pitch in the top of the 3rd, but Nova Scotia answered with their best offensive showing of the tournament. 9 runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the inning highlighted by Nathan Livingston’s (Glace Bay, NS) 2-RBI double. Jaden Griffen (Sackville, NS) earned the win for Nova Scotia tossing 2 hitless innings while striking out 3. Jaxson Gulliver (St. John’s, NL) was charged with the loss after allowing 6 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks in 2.1 innings of work. He struck out 1 during his time on the mound. Newfoundland put up a 4 run inning in the top of the 7th but it was too little too late as Nova Scotia couldn’t be caught.
British Columbia 6 Québec 2
British Columbia defeated Québec in the second semi-final of the day to guarantee themselves a medal. Québec put up a good fight but couldn’t match the defending champs’ offensive production. Québec’s starting pitcher William Sierra (Montréal, QC) was charged with the loss after allowing 6 runs on 6 hits and 4 walk in 3.1 innings. BC’s Carter Loewen (Abbotsford, BC) pitched another complete game allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 4 in the game. BC scored in the top of the 1st and maintained the lead pretty well throughout the entire game. Their offence was led by Trevor Fonseca’s (West Vancouver, BC) 2 RBI performance. BC will take on the host Saskatchewan in the Gold Medal game while Québec will play Ontario for Bronze.
New Brunswick 11 Alberta 5
New Brunswick defeated Alberta by a score of 11 to 5 in the second placement game of the day. New Brunswick’s starting pitcher Ryan Nason (Saint John, NB) lasted 3 inning allowing 1 run on 1 hit and 1 walk. He struck out 4 during his performance. Ben Tighe (Okotoks, AB) started on the mound for Alberta and allowed 6 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. New Brunswick took the lead early scoring a run in the first and extending their lead to 5 in the bottom of the 2nd. Alberta scored 5 runs of their own throughout the game but failed to match New Brunswick’s 11. Jeremie Arseneau (Dieppe, NB) led New Brunswick’s offence driving in 3 runs on 2 hits.
Up Next: Gold medal game between Saskatchewan and British Columbia at 7:30pm CST!
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