OTTAWA – The theme for today so far: Score early. In almost every game, the winning team has taken the lead within the first couple of innings and never looked back. We will see if this trend continues within the games later today.
Both tournament are now well underway with each team trying to battle for positions in the medal round.
Junior Championship
Québec 13 Saskatchewan 3
Québec plated at least one run in every inning that helped them cruise past Saskatchewan 13-3. Québec’s bats started strong right away as they put three runs on board heading into the second inning. Seven different players drove in at least one run for Québec, led by two each from Samuel Groleau (St-Laurent, QC), Joël Sébastien (Gatineau, QC) and Alexandre Béland (Trois-Rivières, QC). Pitcher Kevin Spénard (Le Gardeur, QC) tossed all six innings in the win.
Ontario (1) 12 New Brunswick 2
Ontario stormed out of the gate with four quick first inning runs and never looked back en route to a 12-2 mercy win over New Brunswick. The game lasted only five innings. Second baseman Brandon Collins (Toronto, ON) had two RBI and three runs scored for Ontario while his double-play partner Joel Cooper (Lasalle, ON) was perfect at the plate with three hits. Chris Renaud (Windsor, ON) pitched all five innings for the win.
Nova Scotia 10 Newfoundland and Labrador 2
Mark Baigent (Halifaxt, NS) fanned nine batter over a complete seven innings while his offense did the rest in a 10-2 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador. Tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, Nova Scotia exploded for eight runs the rest of the way. Chris Schrider (Dartmouth, NS) hit grand slam home run in the sixth inning to help seal the victory, while Brett McGinnis (Dartmouth, NS) contributed in a big way with three hits and three runs scored.
Manitoba 4 BC 1
Elliot Desilets (Elie, MB) was superb on the mound for Manitoba, allowing only one hit and one unearned run over seven full innings. Ryan Ozunko (Winnipeg, MB) provided some offense for his pitcher with two RBI, while catcher Nathan Christiuk (Dufrost, MB) had two hits and two runs scored. Thomas Bidzinski (Nanaimo, BC) had the lone hit and RBI for his club.
Midget Championship
Ontario got on the board early with four first inning runs, and pitcher Kyle Zimmer (London, ON) fanned nine batters over five solid innings to help lead Ontario to a victory over Newfoundland and Labrador. Half of Ontario’s 12 hits were for extra bases, led by Mike Ambrose’s (London, ON) two doubles. He finished the game going a perfect 3/3 at the dish.
Québec 11 Nova Scotia 2
After giving up a run to start the game, Québec settled down and scored nine runs over the next four innings to coast past Nova Scotia 11-2. Simon Loranger (Trois-Rivières, QC) had a big day at the plate for Québec, going 3/4 with three runs scored and a home run. Starting pitcher Francis Desilets (St-Maurice, QC) pitched a full seven innings to earn the win.
Saskatchewan 12 Manitoba 4
Saskatchewan scored all 12 of their runs within the first four innings, helping them to defeat Manitoba by a six run margin. Taking advantage of some defensive miscues by Manitoba, Saskatchewan kept extending the lead in every inning up until the fifth. Catcher Brayden Resch (Saskatoon, SK) scored three times over the course of the game and also finished with a RBI.
Québec City 7 New Brunswick 0
The hosts supplied all their offensive prowess within the first two innings, and then let their pitching and defense guide them the rest of the way. David Glaude (Québec, QC) steered the offense with two hits and two RBI while pitchers Olivier Dolbec (Québec, QC) and Vincent Thibeault (Québec, QC) were spectacular on the mound in the shutout win.
Reminder: Every game from the Junior and Midget National Championships can be followed LIVE at Pointstreak. For further information on the competing teams, schedules and standings for the Junior tournament, please click HERE; for the Midget championship click HERE.
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