Baseball Canada Championships: Moving day at four nationals

By: Riley Quigg

Canadian Baseball Network

OTTAWA-Teams began to separate themselves from the pack as 32 games were played over four different Baseball Canada National Championships Friday.

Tomorrow’s action will surely have a role to play in determining the playoff picture with medal games set for Sunday.

Here’s a recap of all the action.

Senior Women

BC picked up two big wins to improve their record to 3-0, while Ontario recorded a decisive victory over Québec.

Stacy Fournier (Langley, BC) had a double and drove in two, while Claire Eccles (White Rock, BC) had a triple and went 3-for-4 to lead BC to a 7-2 win over the Prospects squad. Ella Matteucci (Fruitvale, BC) went the distance on the mound.

BC followed that up with a 7-0 shutout win over host Alberta in the evening where Eccles fashioned a two hitter in a complete game effort that saw her strikeout five, while adding a double and an RBI at the plate.

Ontario earned a big 19-6 win over Québec to even their record at 1-1.

Scores:

BC 7 Prospects 2

Ontario 19 Québec 6

BC 7 Alberta 0

13U

After rain limited day one of competition to just three games, the schedule was reworked forcing some teams to play three games on day two and it was both Saskatchewan and Brampton (ON1) who came away with three wins as each team joins undefeated Mauricie (QC2) at 3-0.

Saskatchewan began the day finishing a suspended game against Rive-Sud (QC1) as they hung on for a wild 22-20 win in eight innings. Boston Buckberger (Saskatoon, SK) led the charge with a 4-for-6 game and drove in four, while Ethan Murdoch (Swift Current, SK) homered. Felix Poulin (Varennes, QC) went 4-for-5 with four RBI in the loss for Rive-Sud. Brodie Guenther (Warman, SK) then fanned 10 over four and third innings of work, while Braxton Buckberger (Saskatoon, SK) drove in a pair in a 4-2 win over host London before the Prairie boys edged Atlantic, 4-3.

Brampton was simply dominant in their three win outscoring the opposition 40-2 with wins over Alberta, BC and Québec (QC3). Owen Vickers (Toronto, ON) hit a rand slam and Cole Iantomasi (Whitby, ON) worked five strong innings on the mound in a 10-0 win over Alberta. In a 15-2 win over BC, Jake Heaton (Georgetown, ON) and Jonas Press (Toronto, ON) homered while three pitchers held BC to just three hits. Press and Iantomasi each went deep as Brampton one-hit Québec (QC3) in a 15-0 win.

Host London kept the hometown fans happy with wins over Barrie (ON2) and Rive-Sud (QC1) after beginning the day with a loss to Saskatchewan. London survived a furious comeback from Barrie to escape with a 10-9 win in game where Brett Harrison (London, ON) drove in five, while Evan Prince homered. Jazari Harris (Barrie, ON) hit two home runs and had six RBI in the loss for Barrie. London finished the day by edging Rive-Sud, 6-5 in the last game of the day.

After opening the tournament with a win over Québec (QC3), Mauricie (QC2) kept the momentum going with wins over BC and Alberta. Thomas Pichette (Maskinongé, QC) had two doubles and dove in two in a 10-4 win over Alberta, while a four run fourth inning led Mauricie to a 7-6 win over BC in a game that resumed after being suspended due to rain yesterday.

Nash Crowell (Yarmouth, NS) went deep as Atlantic beat Rive-Sud (QC1), 9-5.

Atlantic now sits at 1-2, while BC, Alberta and Québec (QC3) remains winless.

Scores:

Saskatchewan 22 Rive-Sud (QC1) 20

Mauricie (QC2) 7 BC 6

Brampton (ON1) 10 Alberta 0

Saskatchewan 4 London 2

Atlantic 9 Rive-Sud (QC1) 5

Brampton (ON1) 15 BC 2

Mauricie (QC2) 10 Alberta 4

London 10 Barrie (ON2) 9

Saskatchewan 4 Atlantic 3

Alberta 9 BC 6

Brampton (ON1) 15 Québec (QC3) 0

London 6 Rive-Sud (QC1) 5

Senior Men

Alberta, Ontario 2 and New Brunswick are all undefeated after two days of games at the Senior Men National Championships in Fredericton, while Ontario 1, host Fredericton and BC sit at 2-1.

Lance Romanchuk (Sherwood Park, AB), Greg Wallace (Sherwood Park, AB) and Drew Miller (Calgary, AB) each homered as Alberta cruised to a 14-4 win over Newfoundland & Labrador. They would follow that up with a close 3-2 win over Ontario 1 later in the day where Aaron Dunsmore (Edmonton, AB) and Miller each homered, while Ryan Murphy (Edmonton, AB) had a complete-game effort on the mound.

Billy Hurley (Mississauga, ON) fired six shutout innings as Ontario 1 blanked Manitoba, 6-0. Ontario 2 used home runs from Taylor Castrillo (Sarnia, ON), Mitch Roy (St. Thomas, ON) and Justin Cook (Dresden, ON) to get by host Fredericton, 10-3.

BC got a home run from Billy Germaine (Aldergrove, BC) and a complete-game effort from Jesse Peters (Langley, BC) to edge Québec, 3-2. Québec suffered another 3-2 defeat at the hands of Fredericton later in the day as Corey Wood (Fredericton, NB) homered for the hosts.

Nova Scotia scored a 5-3 win over BC as Jake Pelham (Halifax, NS) belted a pair of home runs, while Jeff Reeves (Dartmouth, NS) fanned 11 en route to picking up the win.

New Brunswick remained unbeaten with a 9-3 win over Manitoba that saw Dillon Doucette (Morell, PE), Morgan MacLean (Charlottetown, PE) and Mark Phillips (Saint John, NB) each homer.

Scores:

Alberta 14 Newfoundland & Labrador 4

Ontario (1) 6 Manitoba 0

Ontario (2) 10 Fredericton 3

BC 3 Québec 2

New Brunswick 9 Manitoba 3

Alberta 3 Ontario (1) 2

Nova Scotia 5 BC 3

Fredericton 3 Québec 2

15U Boys

Ontario (3-0) and Alberta (4-0) remain perfect at the 15U Boys National Championships in Summerside, PEI and both sit atop their respective pools after two day of competition.

Austin Gomm (Mississauga, ON) fanned seven over four innings of work as Ontario one-hit BC en route to an 11-0 mercy-rule win, while Robert Manella (Burlington, ON) added a two run homer.

Ryan Marples (St. Albert, AB) did it at the plate and on the mound to lead Alberta over Manitoba, 15-4. Marples tossed six innings on the mound and struck out three, while driving in four runs as part of a 3-for-4 day at the plate. Liam Froment (Morinville, AB) also homered for the victors. The Albertans moved to 4-0 with a 6-4 win over Saskatchewan later in the day.

It was a perfect day for Newfoundland & Labrador who improved their record to 3-1 with wins over Saskatchewan in the morning and Nova Scotia in the afternoon. Daniel Hogarth (Conception Bay South, NL) fanned 11 over five and two-thirds innings in a 6-3 win over Saskatchewan, and went 4-for-4 with two RBI in a 10-9 win over Nova Scotia.

Québec also enjoyed a 2-0 day after opening the tournament with a loss. Home runs from Nicolas Tremblay (St-Hyacinthe, QC) and Deven Lacerte-Desmarais (Trois-Riviéres, QC) highlighted an 11-3 win over PEI, while Lacerte-Desmarais and Simon Menier (Saguenay, QC) went deep in a 13-0 win over New Brunswick. Anthony Kingsbury (Gatineau, QC) had seven strikeouts in five innings of work to record the win.

Host Summerside (2-2) and Manitoba (1-3) each went 1-1 on the day, while New Brunswick and PEI are still looking for their first win of the tournament.

Scores:

Newfoundland & Labrador 6 Saskatchewan 3

Manitoba 11 Summerside 1

Québec 11 PEI 3

Ontario 11 BC 0

Alberta 15 Manitoba 4

Newfoundland & Labrador 10 Nova Scotia 9

Québec 13 New Brunswick 0

Alberta 6 Saskatchewan 4

Summerside 4 Nova Scotia 1

Live streaming will be available for the 15U Championship HERE and the Senior Men Championship HERE. You can also keep tabs on all four events via Pointstreak!