OTTAWA – Round robin play wrapped up Saturday night in both the Junior and Midget National Championship tournaments. The standings have been set and Sunday’s schedule has been confirmed. Winners of the semi-final games will go on to play in the Gold Medal game while the losers will battle for Bronze.
Junior Championship
To view the tournament standings and Sunday’s medal round schedule in further detail, please visit the Junior National Championship webpage.
The following is a recap of Saturday’s action.
Ontario (1) 5 BC 2
Pitcher Brandon Collins (Toronto, ON) fell and inning short of earning a complete game shutout, allowing two unearned runs in the top of the seventh but still managed to defeat BC by three runs. Catcher Laszlo Horvath (Lasalle, ON) had two hits and two RBI in his team’s winning effort.
Nova Scotia 14 Saskatchewan 2
The maritime province sent an astounding 17 batters to the plate in a – get ready for it – 14 run second inning to the blowout win in a mercy-shortened game. Left fielder Brandon MacKinnon had an astonishing six RBI in the inning, with four of them coming off one swing as he hit a grand slam.
Ontario (2) 14 Newfoundland and Labrador 2
Ontario built a 13-0 lead after only four innings and went on to defeat Newfoundland and Labrador via the mercy rule. Five different Ontario players scored at least two runs while four players had at least two RBI. Right fielder Eric Cunningham (Lasalle, ON) had a big day with two hits and four RBI.
Trois-Rivières 8 Manitoba 2
Already up by two runs, Trois-Rivières extended their lead to six thanks to a four run fourth inning and would hang on for the victory. Number one and two hitters Jérémie Chalifour (Le Gardeur, QC) and Julien Bélanger (Batiscan, QC) provided most of the offense combining for five hits and four RBI.
Québec 6 Ontario (2) 2
A six run outburst in the top of the fifth inning propelled Québec past Ontario 6-2. Dave Champagne (Québec, QC) had two hits and a RBI and Samuel Groleau (St-Laurent, QC) had two RBI in the win. Pitcher Vincent Ouellet (Deux-Montangnes, QC) threw all seven innings to secure the win.
BC 3 New Brunswick 2
Tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, Aaron Witzke (Nanaimo, BC) scored the winning run on a New Brunswick error, and his team shut the door in the seventh to grab the victory. Pitcher Marcus Drewry (Comox, BC) pitched seven full innings to help his team win. Mike Washburn (Fredericton, NB) had two hits and two RBI in the loss.
Ontario (1) 4 Trois-Rivières 2
Two six inning runs for Ontario turned out to be the difference in the game as Trois-Rivières scored two of their own in the bottom half of the inning but still lost 4-2. Larry Balkwill (Chatham, ON) picked up his eight and ninth RBI in the win while Sean Sutton (Toronto, ON) had two hits and two runs scored. Pitcher Guillaume Ayotte (Le Gardeur, QC) pitched the full game in a losing effort.
Midget Championship
To view the tournament standings and Sunday’s medal round schedule in further detail, please visit the Midget National Championship webpage.
The following is a recap of Saturday’s action.
BC 6 Nova Scotia 0
Starting pitcher Russel Hutson (Port Coquitlam, BC) threw a complete game gem allowing only one hit, and his offense did the rest as BC trounced Nova Scotia. Centre fielder Cole Johnson (Maple, Ridge, BC) led the way offensively with two hits, three RBI and one run scored.
Alberta 11 Québec 1
Alberta tallied on nine runs between innings two and four en route to the decisive victory over Québec. Doug Clapperton (Calgary, AB) and Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, AB) combined for four hits, four runs and five RBI while Ramon Valdez (Chestermere, AB) went a perfect 3/3.
New Brunswick 10 Newfoundland and Labrador 4
New Brunswick used seven fourth inning runs to power their way past their Maratime rivals with a 10-4 victory. Third baseman Chris Thomas (Fredericton, NB) was the star at the plate today hitting in all four of his plate appearances while driving in two runs and scoring two runs himself.
Ontario 6 Saskatchewan 4
Ontario rallied for three runs in the sixth inning off of Sam Refflinghaus’ (London, ON) three run shot and then shut the door in the seventh to hang on and defeat Saskatchewan 6-4. Ontario showed off their power game today as Nolan Anderson (London, ON) hit two home runs of his own. Aaron Barrett (Saskatoon, SK) had three RBI in his team’s losing effort.
Manitoba 4 Québec City 3
Even though they committed four errors defensively, Manitoba still managed to squeak by the host Québec City squad by a one run margin. Four different Manitoba players scored, showing they are a solid all-around offensive team. Ben Onyshko (Winnipeg, MB) pitched the final one and two-thirds innings to earn the save.
BC 2 PEI 0
BC got their second shutout of the day, this time off of six very strong innings from Thomas Strocel (North Saanish, BC) and one solid inning from Eric McGinn (Kelowna, BC) who earned the save. Strocel also had one at-bat in the game, driving in one run with a RBI single.
Alberta 5 Saskatchewan 4
Alberta rallied with three runs in the final two innings to steal the win away from Saskatchewan. Matt Lloyd (Okotoks, AB) scored the winning run, and Blake Patterson (Calgary, AB) put in his best effort with two RBI. Shortstop Jacob Hersikorn (Saskatoon, SK) had two hits and a run scored in the heart-breaking loss.
Québec City 11 Québec 1
The host team from Québec City defeated their rivals in dominant fashion in the battle of Québec. They scored four first inning runs and never looked back the rest of the way as Samuel D’Anjou (Québec, QC) shut down Québec’s offense by going the distance and striking out six batters along the way.
Note: A quick reminder that all LIVE game action from both tournaments can be followed on Pointstreak!
