All five divisions competing in the first week of the Baseball Canada National Championships have now determined who will play for the medals. In the semi-finals of the Baseball Canada Cup championship, Québec, carried on the performances of pitchers Samuel Ouellet of St.-Eustache, Québec and Philippe Charpentier of Lachenaie, Québec, moved on to the gold medal game with a 1-0 victory. In the other semi-final, Danny Britton-Foster held the Saskatchewan hitters at bay as British Columbia moved on to the gold medal game with a 2-0 win. Britton-Foster pitched a complete game two-hitter, giving up only a walk with 10 strikeouts. At the Senior Women’s championship, Ontario and Alberta will face off for the gold medal after both teams came up with victories over Nova Scotia and Québec respectively. Nova Scotia and Québec will play for bronze. Québec City, with a 2-1 win over Ontario (Oshawa) in 14 innings, will play for gold in the Men`s Senior championship against Manitoba who defeated British Columbia by a score of 4-2. The Bantam Girls championship will see Alberta and Québec battle for the gold medal and the host team Québec City will take on Saskatchewan for the bronze. Finally, British Columbia and Québec will face off for gold in the Pee-Wee Girls championship. Québec City and Alberta will challenge for the bronze medal. For updated information and scores at all championship tournaments, please be sure to check out the Championships link here on our website.
Baseball Canada has announced its roster for the Junior National Team who will be heading off to Joplin, Missouri for an exhibition series against, among others, the U.S. Junior National Team before making their way for the World Junior Baseball Championship Qualifier set to begin on August 24 in Ixtapa, Mexico. Among the 25 players already named to the roster is Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. The 17-year-old prospect recently participated in the Cape Cod Classic, an all-star type game showcasing the best high school baseball players in North America. Their will be a couple of additions to the lineup before the team heads south. The coaching staff will add players who are participating in the Baseball Canada Cup, which is taking place in Québec City. The Junior team will play six games during their visit to Joplin against Team U.S.A., Team Taiwan and the Premier Team. The trips to Joplin and Mexico are preparation for the World Junior Baseball Championships which will be held in Edmonton next year. To see the roster and schedule of the Junior National Team for the Summer of 2007, click on the National Teams link here on our website.
Ontario (Oshawa) and Québec faced off for 13 innings at the Baseball Canada National Championship with Ontario eventually coming out on top by a score of 4-3 at the Senior Men’s championship. The game that lasted over three hours and 30 minutes showed the teams tied at 1-1 after seven innings. Québec took the lead in the top half of the 13th inning as Renaud Desjardins of Québec City, Québec and Vincent Michaud of Rivière-du-Loup, Québec came around to score to put Québec ahead 3-1. Ontario would come right back in the bottom half of the 13th after making the score 3-2, Adam Sylvestre of Whitby, Ontario hit a double to drive in the tying and winning runs. In other Senior Men’s action, Québec fell a second time as Newfoundland and Labrador were in complete control, taking the victory 8-2. Alberta fell to Manitoba 4-3 and British Columbia edged New Brunswick 3-2. At the Baseball Canada Cup championship, Ontario improved to 5-0 with a win over Québec, 4-2, who now fall to 0-5. Nova Scotia beat up on Alberta by a score of 8-1, Newfoundland and Labrador fell to Prince Edward Island 4-1 and Saskatchewan improved to 3-2 with a 1-0 win over British Columbia. Newfoundland and Labrador were crushed again in the Pee-Wee Girls championship, this time by British Columbia by a score of 20-2, while Ontario doubled up on Québec, 12-6. Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Québec were all victorious in Bantam Girls championship action with both Alberta and Québec winning convincingly. Alberta throttled Nova Scotia 19-0 and Québec pounded Manitoba 13-1. For the Senior Women’s championship, Ontario with a convincing win over Nova Scotia 12-1 and Québec blanked New Brunswick 7-0. For updated information and scores at all championship tournaments, please be sure to check out the Championships link here on our website.
After Nova Scotia’s Shain Beaudreau pitched a no-hitter on Wednesday against Manitoba at the Baseball Canada National Championships, Kate Psota of Burlington, Ontario nearly followed in his footsteps on Thursday. In the Senior Women’s Championship, Psota tossed a complete game, one-hitter to lead team Ontario over team Alberta 2-0. Psota allowed three walks and struck out eight for the victory. For Alberta, Melissa Armstrong of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan pitched six innings, allowing two runs on five hits with nine strikeouts to take the loss. In other Senior Women’s action, Nova Scotia topped New Brunswick 4-1, but were later crushed by Québec 18-1. In the Pee-Wee Girls championship, Québec City thumped Newfoundland and Labrador 13-0 and Alberta took the loss against Québec by the score of 11-9 For the Bantam Girls championships, Alberta, Saskatchewan and both Québec teams were all victorious. Quebec City’s win over British Columbia was an amazing comeback as they would come from 11-4 down to take the win 12-11. Nova Scotia, behind their three hits and two home runs, earned the win over British Columbia and their seven hits by a score of 3-2 in Senior Men’s championship action. In other Senior Men’s action, Québec City improved to 2-0 with a win over New Brunswick 6-2 and Albert fell to 0-2 with a loss to Québec by a score of 6-2. At the Baseball Canada Cup, Prince Edward Island mustered two wins on Thursday, the first an upset win against Alberta 4-2 then downing Nova Scotia 5-2. Nova Scotia however came back later in the day to beat Newfoundland and Labrador 7-4. Alberta were able to do the same as they would take out Manitoba later in the day by a score of 7-1. New Brunswick, Ontario and British Columbia also earned victories. For updated information and scores at all championship tournaments, please be sure to check out the Championships link here on our website.
The theme of the week so far at the Baseball Canada National Championships is close games as a few more games were tight to start day three. At the Women’s Senior championships, it took eight innings for Alberta to take the victory over New Brunswick, 5-3. Alberta jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but New Brunswick tied the game with runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings to force extras before Alberta would take the lead for good in eighth. The host team continues their success at the Senior Men’s championship. Québec City improved their record to 3-0 with a win over Nova Scotia by a score of 9-8. In other Senior Men’s action, Manitoba got the win over Newfoundland and Labrador, 5-1 and Ontario (Tecumseh) fell to British Columbia by a score of 4-0. The Pee-Wee Girls were not following the theme of the week as Québec crushed Newfoundland and Labrador 23-1. Noémie Losier of Varennes, Québec was 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored in the game. Also, British Columbia did not follow the theme as they went on to beat Ontario 11-0. On the other hand, Alberta and Québec City played to a one-run game as Alberta took the victory, 12-11. Alberta improved to 2-0 in the Bantam Girls championship with a 17-6 win over Manitoba. And British Columbia got their first win of the championship, defeating Saskatchewan 5-2. New Brunswick scored six runs in the third inning to improve their record to 3-0 with a 7-1 win over Alberta in the Baseball Canada Cup championship. Robert Gallant of Miramichi, N.B. pitched a complete game three-hitter, allowing only the one run with a walk and four strikeouts. In other morning games, Manitoba earned their first win of the championship, 10-0 over Newfoundland and Labrador. British Columbia earned their second consecutive win over Québec, this time by a 9-2 score and Ontario edged Saskatchewan, 6-5. For updated information and scores at all championship tournaments, please be sure to check out the Championships link here at www.baseball.ca.
Once all the rain cleared in Québec City, Shain Beaudreau and Team Nova Scotia cleared all of Manitoba’s hitters as none of them could muster any type of offence. The right-handed pitcher from Cole Harbour, N.S. threw a complete game, no-hitter versus Manitoba to finish off the first day of the National Championships in a 2-0 victory in the Baseball Canada Cup championship. Beaudreau only allowed two base runners, one on an error and the other on a strikeout which skipped away from the catcher which allowed the hitter to reach first base. Nova Scotia scored both its runs in the fifth inning to begin the championship at 1-0. In other games, Ontario overcame a late 2-1 deficit to come from behind and defeat Québec 4-2 in what turned out to be the opening game of the National Championships due to the rain. Ontario is 1-0, while Québec is 0-1. New Brunswick started their Baseball Canada Cup with a win over Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan opened their tournament with what could be considered an upset win over British Columbia. The National Championships continue on Thursday with the start of the Pee-Wee Girls Championship, Bantam Girls Championship, Senior Women Championship and Senior Men Championship. For updated information and scores at all championship tournaments, please be sure to check out the Championships link here on our website
The sun is shining bright on the second day of the Baseball Canada National Championships in Québec City, but the beginning of the day was not so bright. The game scheduled between Ontario and British Columbia for the Baseball Canada Cup Championship was forfeited to Ontario as B.C. were a no-show for the first game of the day at the Stade Municipal, which was scheduled to start at 8:30 am. Saskatchewan and Québec followed the forfeited game with an exciting matchup. Québec jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings, but Saskatchewan came back with five runs in the fifth inning to take a lead they would never relinquish as they would take the win, 8-4. Marshall Dean of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan came in relief and pitched 4.2 solid innings, allowing only two hits and two walks with four strikeouts for the win. Derek Wallace of Oxbow, Saskatchewan completed the scoring with a monster home run over the left field wall. In the Pee-Wee Girls championship, Ontario fell to host Québec City by a score of 13-9. Alberta registered their first win of the championship by beating Newfoundland and Labrador 14-1 and Québec took the loss against British Columbia 8-6. The Bantam Girls Championship began with victories for the host team from Québec City and Nova Scotia. Québec City defeating Ontario 12-6, while Nova Scotia beat Manitoba 8-5. At the Senior Women Championship, Nova Scotia defeated New Brunswick by a score of 4-1. And at the Senior Men Championship, Ontario (Tecumseh) fell to Québec City 6-5, Nova Scotia defeated New Brunswick 5-3, Ontario (Oshawa) succumbed to Manitoba 4-3 and Newfoundland and Labrador came with an upset victory over Alberta by a score of 4-3. For updated information and scores at all championship tournaments, please be sure to check out the Championships link here at www.baseball.ca.
The start of the National Championships in Québec City has been postponed due to rain. All games scheduled prior to 5:30 pm are likely to be rescheduled for Saturday, August 11. Presently, all games scheduled after 5:30 pm will go ahead as scheduled. For updated information and scores of all championship tournaments, please be sure to check out the Championships link on our website.
Tim Pratt, Head Coach for the Bantam Girls team that will represent Nova Scotia at the National Championships in Québec City, is hoping for some good results in the tournament. “I like our chances to make it to the crossovers and get in to the medal round,” says Pratt. “We built the team to compete,” adds Pratt, “so, we’re going to be competitive and looking forward to playing some good ball.” This is the first time that Pratt and his team will be at the Nationals and he wants his girls to savour the experience. “I want my kids to have fun,” says Pratt. “They’ve worked hard and if they have fun and play relaxed and play loose they’ll have some successes, both personal and on the field.” His high expectations for his team finishing in the medals are based on the fact of his team’s cohesiveness and spirit. “The strongest suit of the team is the team itself,” says Pratt. “These girls have been together since March and they never give me a day off. They’re always trying to get together. They’re very close as a team.” Now all that is left to do for Pratt and his team is to get to Québec City and play. “We’ve finished our last practices,” says Pratt, “so the girls are amped and ready to go.” The 2007 Baseball Canada Championships are a single site event that will be held in Québec City from August 8-12 and August 16-19.
The Texas Rangers traded Eric Gagne of Mascouche, Québec to the Boston Red Sox, which puts the closer on a contending team to possibly make the playoffs and even the World Series. “The Red Sox are a team that is built to win now. On top of that, they’re the best team in the Majors,” says Gagne in an interview with the French sports network RDS. To get Gagne, The Red Sox traded pitcher Kason Gabbard and two minor league outfielders, David Murphy and Engel Beltre. The 2003 Cy Young award winner will be in uniform for the Red Sox when they take on the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. The former Junior and Senior National Team member has posted a 2-0 record with a 2.16 ERA and 16 saves this season.
