By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
Events got underway across the country on Thursday with Baseball Canada National Championships being held in Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. With a total of 27 games set to take place today, here’s a recap of some of the action so far:

13U National Championship
Mauricie 7 Québec 3
Thomas Pichette (Maskinonge, QC) goes 3 for 4 with 3 doubles, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored to carry more than his weight offensively. Antoine Tremblay (Trois-Rivières, QC) also provided some run support with a solo homer in the 4th. Winning pitcher Xavier Cere (Trois-Rivières, QC) struck out 4 over 3.2 innings of relief work.

Barrie 5 Atlantic 3
Joe Kuin (Peterborough, ON) and Colby Guy (Barrie, ON) both homered in the win. Kuin went 2 for 3 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Reliever Jason Aguonie (Oshweken, ON) struck out 6 of the 8 batters he faced during his 2 hitless innings while closer James Markham (Mississauga, ON) sealed the deal shutting out the opposition over 2.2 innings.

 
15U Championship
Newfoundland 7 Summerside 2
Daniel Hogarth (Conception Bay South, NL) and Lucas Adams (Upper Island Cover, NL) both homered in the win. Hogarth went 2 for 3 with a couple RBIs and 2 runs scored while Adams went 1 for 2 coming across to score twice. Starting pitcher Michael Molloy (St. John’s, NL) earned the win striking out 7 over 5 innings.

Saskatchewan 10 Manitoba 2
Starting Pitcher Ryan Olchoway (Saskatoon, SK) was dominant on the mound striking out 7 over 3 innings of 1-hit baseball. Olchoway helped his cause at the plate as well going 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Blake Pongracz (Saskatoon, SK) went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored in the win.

Ontario 13 New Brunswick 3
Arthur Kowara (Toronto, ON) went 2 for 3 with 4 RBIs including a 3-run homer to contribute offensively in the win. Tyrell Schofield Sam (Brampton, ON) also chipped in going 3 for 4 with an RBI and 3 runs scored. Starting pitcher Keegan Thorpe set the tone on the mound striking out 5 over 2 no-hit innings.

British Columbia 7 Québec 5
Québec tied this one up with 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th to send it to extras, but couldn’t match BC’s 3 runs in the 8th. Nicklas Holdershaw (Surrey, BC) went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored in the win. Reliever Kevin Kim (Abbotsford, BC) struck out 7 over 3.1 shutout innings allowing only 2 hits before handing it off to closer Ryan Beitel (Cloverdale, BC) who secured the win.

Nova Scotia 14 Manitoba 4
Nick Gravel (Fall River, NS) went 4 for 4 with 2 RBIs and came across to score 4 times to provide some run support in the win. Kade Mason also contributed offensively with a solo home run and 2 RBIs in the game. Starting pitcher Rory White (Fall River, NS) earned the win striking out 2 over 2.1 innings while holding Manitoba to 1 run.

Alberta 3 Newfoundland 2
Ryan Marples (St. Albert, AB) helped Alberta to the 3-2 win with a walk-off sac fly in the bottom of the 7th.  Closer Nathan McClinton (Morinville, AB) earned the win shutting out the opposition over 1.2 hitless innings. Newfoundland’s Cameron Brewer (Paradise, NL) struck out 8 over 6.1 innings allowing only 1 run in the losing effort.

Ontario 15 Prince Edward Island 1
Ontario’s pitching staff combined for a no-hitter in their decisive victory over PEI racking up a total of 10 strikeouts and allowing 1 run on 3 walks. 11 different hitters picked up a hit in the win including Joshua Blanchard (Mississauga, ON) who drove in 5 runs and came across to score once. Austin Gomm (Mississauga, ON) went 2 for 2 with a double, an RBI and 4 runs scored.

Summerside  9 Saskatchewan 4
Summerside scored 5 quick runs in the top of the 1st to secure the win early on. Starting pitcher Ben MacDougall (Summerside, PE) was credited with the victory striking out 4 over 3.1 shutout innings. Bennett MacArthur (Summerside, PE) homered driving in 2 runs and coming across to score twice to provide some offense.

Alberta 9 Nova Scotia 6
Liam Froment (Morinville, AB) was perfect at the plate in this one going 4 for 4 with a double and 3 RBIs while coming across to score once in the win. Starting pitcher Logan McKinley (St. Albert, AB) picked up the win striking out 6 over 4 innings while holding Nova Scotia to 3 runs on 3 hits.

British Columbia 4 New Brunswick 3
Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC) put on a stellar performance on the mound for British Columbia striking out 11 of the 20 batters he faced. Millas held the opposition to 1 run on 4 hits. Nicklas Holdershaw (Surrey, BC) provided some much needed offense in this one with an RBI double in the 5th.

 
Senior Men Championship
Ontario (ON1) 5 Newfoundland 4
Gerry Stone (St. John’s, NL) homered twice going 2 for 3 with 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored in the losing effort as Ontario’s Joel Pierce picked up the complete game win. Pierce struck out 8 over 7 innings giving up 2 earned runs on 5 hits. Ryan Lapensee (Lasalle, ON) and Casey Power (Lakeshore, ON) both homered in the win.

Nova Scotia 2 Québec 1
This pitching duel took 11 innings to decide with the winning run ultimately coming across to score on a hit by pitch. Winning pitcher Codey Shrider was dominant on the mound in extras giving up only 2 hits and striking out 3 over 4 scoreless innings. Francois Lafrenière (Mascouche, QC) put on a show despite the loss striking out 15 over 10.2 innings of work.

Alberta 8 Manitoba 4
Alberta’s big 5-run inning in the bottom of the 5th was the difference maker in this one as starting pitcher Adam Paulencu (Sherwood Park, AB) went the distance to secure the win. Paulencu allowed 4 runs on 4 hits while striking out 4 over 7 innings. Mitch Olsen (Deloraine, MB) hit a 3-run homer for Manitoba in the loss.

New Brunswick 13 Newfoundland 1
New Brunswick set the tone early with a 5-run inning in the top of the 1st that was enough to secure the win. Mark Phillips (Saint John, NB) and Morgan MacLean (Charlottetown, PE) both homered in the win. Phillips went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored while MacLean went 2 for 2 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Andrew MacDonald also contributed offensively with a bases-clearing double in the top of the 3rd.

Ontario (ON2) 10 Nova Scotia 2
Tyler Annett (St. Thomas, ON) went the distance for Ontario allowing only 1 earned run over 7 innings of work. Arnett struck out 2 while allowing 5 hits in the game. Ron Oneson (London, ON) provided some offense early with a 3-run shot in the top of the 1st. Jamie Bailey (Petrolia, ON) also provided some run support going 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.

Fredericton 3 British Columbia 0
Shane Kraemer (Chilliwack, BC) put on quite the show for the home crowd striking out 14 of the 25 batters he faced. Kraemer tossed a complete game shutout giving up only 4 hits during his 7 innings on the mound. David Crossman (Fredericton, NB) provided the bulk of the offense in the one going 2 for 2 with 2 solo home runs.

 
Senior Women Invitational
Alberta 10 Prospect Team 9
Alberta put up 5 in the bottom of the 7th to make it a walk-off win for the local favourites. Melissa Armstrong (Saskatoon, SK) went 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored to provide some offense in the win along with Becky Hartley (Richmond, BC) who went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored. Mia Valcke (St. Mary’s, ON) went 2 for 4 with a double, a triple and 3 RBIs in the losing effort.

British Columbia 4 Ontario 0
Amanda Asay (Prince George, BC) was dominant on the mound allowing only 3 hits in the complete game shutout win. Asay struck out 5 over 7 innings. Daniella Matteucci (Fruitvale, BC) went 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs to provide the bulk of the offense in the win. Hannah Martensen (Ottawa, ON) also went the distance giving up 4 runs on 11 hits while striking out 3 in the loss.

Québec 7 Prospect Team 4
Starting pitcher Isabella Denis (Candiac, QC) went the distance for Québec striking out 4 over a complete 7 innings and holding the Prospect team to 4 runs. Québec’s 6-run inning in the top of the 5th was the difference maker in this one. Catherine Labelle (St Jérôme, QC) went 3 for 4 with with an RBI and 1 run scored in the win.

Alberta 8 Ontario 2
Paige Hildebrandt (St. Albert, AB) had a very strong performance at the plate going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. Heidi Northcott (Rocky Mountain House, AB) went the distance on the mound for Alberta allowing only 2 runs on 6 hits over 7 innings of work. Northcott struck out 2 in the complete game win.