By: Adam Morissette

Canadian Baseball Network

OTTAWA- After opening the tournament with a loss to Saskatchewan, BC has been on a roll reeling off four consecutive wins including two today to take sole possession of first place in Pool A.

It’s a logjam atop the Pool B standings with Newfoundland & Labrador, Québec and Nova Scotia all sitting at 3-1 heading into tomorrow’s action, the final day of round robin play at the Baseball Canada Cup in Fort McMurray.

BC 10 Saskatchewan 4

BC picked up their third win in a row with a convincing 10-4 win over Saskatchewan who had beaten the defending gold medalists just two days ago. Travis McDougall (Abbotsford, BC) went the distance on the mound and struck out six, while Rhys Cratty (Langley, BC) and Damiano Palmegiani (Cloverdale, BC) each clubbed home runs. Not to be outdone, Jayden Knight (Langley, BC) accounted for three RBI that included a run scoring double as part of a four run second inning.

Ontario 3 Alberta 2

Ontario’s Aaronn Curtis-Atkins (Windsor, ON) fanned eight over seven innings of work where he allowed just two runs on four hits and two walks to lead his side to a 3-2 win over Alberta. Down by two in the fifth, Ontario scored a run on Kimani Bailey’s (Windsor, ON) sac-fly that brought in Tyler Black (Stouffville, ON) who had led off with a triple. Black’s RBI triple in the top of the seventh tied the game before a balk call brought in the go ahead run. Alberta’s Cole Jackson (Thorsby, AB) had an RBI single while William Undershute (Okotoks, AB) went six and two-thirds innings on the mound and struck out five.

Québec 4 Manitoba 0

After an opening game loss, Québec has been on a mission ever since as they’ve won three straight including a 4-0 shutout over Manitoba to improve their record to 3-1. Three pitchers combined on a one-hitter that saw Jeremy Matte (Terrebonne, QC) toss four and a third shutout innings, while Viktor Bergeron (Terrebonne, QC) went one and two-thirds innings and Edouard Savoie (St-Eustache, QC) followed with one scoreless frame. Marc Antoine Lebreux (St Jerome, QC) went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and scored two runs, while Archer Brookman (Montréal, QC) plated a pair including an RBI double in the sixth.

Nova Scotia 5 New Brunswick 3

Nova Scotia scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5-3 lead over New Brunswick and held on to win their third game of the tournament which puts them in a tie for top spot in Pool B. Nova Scotia plated all three runs in the seventh with two out as Doug Hassell (Kentville, NS) scored on an error before Dyton Blackett (Canning, NS) and Connor Snarr (Upper Tantallon, NS) picked up RBI singles. Nova Scotia starter Jake Lonar (Coldbrook, NS) went the distance to pick up the win and had three strikeouts while giving up three runs on five hits and three walks. New Brunswick’s Zach Newman (Miramichi, NB) put forth a solid effort on the mound as he was charged with just one earned run over six and two-thirds innings of work.

PEI 11 Newfoundland & Labrador 2

PEI evened their record at 2-2 and handed Newfoundland & Labrador their first loss in the process with a one-sided 11-2 win over their Atlantic counterparts. Leadoff hitter Chandler LaPorte (Cornwall, PE) was a table setter from the get go as he clubbed two doubles and drove in three runs with a three hit day at the plate. LaPorte and his mates sat back and watch PEI starter Logan MacDougall (Summerside, PE) go to work as he fanned eight over seven innings and gave up just two runs on three hits and two walks in a complete game effort.  Noah Stewart (Cornwall, PE) and Josh Myers (Miscouche, PE) each collected two hits as PEI smacked out 11 hits.

BC 4 Ontario 0

Cade Smith (Abbotsford, BC) was brilliant over seven shutout innings on the mound as he scattered four hits and three walks, while striking out seven to help BC to a 4-0 win over Ontario to give the west coast boys their second win of the day. BC got all the offence they would need with a run in the first and followed with singles in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh frames. Steven Moretto (Burnaby, BC) and Damiano Palmegiani (Cloverdale, BC) each had a hit and one RBI.

Saskatchewan 7 Alberta 3

Saskatchewan won the battle of 1-3 teams as they scored five runs in the second inning and held on to beat Alberta, 7-3, improving their record to 2-3, while the Albertans fell to 1-4 and sit in fourth place in the four-team Pool A. In the second, Tyler McWillie’s (Watrous, SK) single plated two before Brody Frerich’s (Muenster, SK) triple scored two. Saskatchewan relied on the pitching duo of Ryan Olchoway (Saskatoon, SK) and Logan Hofmann (Muenster, SK) who combined to allow just three Alberta hits and strikeout five. Danny Berg (Saskatoon, SK) had two hits including a triple and drove in a pair for the victors, while Alberta’s LaRon Smith (Spruce Grove, AB) had a single and a double in the loss.

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