National Championships: Ontario, British Columbia, and Chatham win gold
Ontario won the 15U Ray Carter Cup in walk-off fashion against BC on Sunday. Photo: Baseball Canada
August 26, 2019
By Joseph Mastromatteo
Baseball Canada
Ontario’s squads came away with two gold medals on Sunday night. Their 15U boys took the Ray Carter Cup finals in dramatic fashion. The first Ontario team also took the 13U National Championship in Repentigny.
British Columbia’s 16U girls secured gold in Bedford with a big shutout win. In Miramichi, the hosting Chatham Ironmen capped off a storybook tournament with a close win for gold.
13U National Championship
Ontario’s early lead over Repentigny in the Gold Medal match paved the way to their championship. Repentigny’s bats drove in two runs in an attempted a comeback in the sixth, but Mark Rogers held them off all game, pitching a complete game for Ontario. Rogers struck out thirteen and walked none while allowing six hits. Josh Davis had two hits and a run for Ontario and Ryan Brenton drove in two runs.
Without a single loss, Ontario was a powerhouse all tournament. Repentigny also had a strong tournament on home soil, defeating Ontario (2) to reach the Gold Medal game and win Silver.
Despite their aforementioned Semi-Final loss to the host team, Ontario’s second squad managed to earn the province a second medal in Repentigny with Bronze. They faced Prince Edward Island and came away with a 12-7 victory. Ontario (2)’s bats were too much for PEI after cashing in ten runs in the first three innings.
Scores:
Saskatchewan 8, Alberta 2
Nova Scotia 11, British Columbia 9
Repentigny 6, Ontario (2) 3
Ontario 8, Prince Edward Island 6
Québec 12, Manitoba 9
BRONZE - Ontario (2) 12, Prince Edward Island 7
GOLD - Ontario 4, Repentigny 2
15U Ray Carter Cup
Ontario came up clutch and walked off British Columbia in the Gold Medal game to add even more hardware to their National Championship display case. BC led Ontario all game, entering the bottom of the seventh with a 4-3 lead. Fans of BC were likely planning their celebration early in the inning as Pierce Radke struck out two Ontarians to put BC one out away from Gold.
With a previous runner on first from a single, BC sacrificed two walks and a wild pitch which suddenly loaded the bases with two out. A Greg LaChance single squeaked in the tying run for Ontario. Finally, Ontario completed the walk-off when Matt Isaacson singled to right field, scoring the winning fifth run.
Earlier, in Bronze action, Prince Edward Island defeated Manitoba 6-4 in a close contest. PEI worked hard all tournament, earning their Bronze Medal with their sixth game win.
Scores:
Nova Scotia 8, Newfoundland 1
Saskatchewan 5, Alberta 4
Ontario 5, Manitoba 1
British Columbia 3, Prince Edward Island 2
Québec 7, Oshawa 0
BRONZE - Prince Edward Island 6, Manitoba 4
GOLD - Ontario 5, British Columbia 4
16U Girls Invitational
British Columbia shutout Alberta 6-0 to win gold in Bedford. BC’s bats blasted five runs in the first two innings while holding Alberta at bay all game. Tess Sawkins tossed a complete game for BC, striking out eight and only allowing one walk. Offense was diverse amongst BC’s lineup, with six different players crossing the plate.
British Columbia went undefeated all tournament, earning their Gold Medal. The tournament was very evenly matched asides from BC’s domination, with both Québec’s squads, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia (2), and Alberta finishing with three wins.
Québec won Bronze over Nova Scotia despite an early deficit. Nova Scotia attempted to catch up with two runs in the top of the seventh, but ultimately fell 5-3.
Scores:
New Brunswick 18, Prince Edward Island 6
Québec (2) 15, Nova Scotia (2) 1
Manitoba 15, Newfoundland 4
Saskatchewan 6, Ontario 4
BRONZE - Québec 5, Nova Scotia 3
GOLD - British Columbia 6, Alberta 0
BIGS Seeds Men’s Championship
The host Chatham Ironmen completed a storybook tournament on home soil to capture gold over Nova Scotia on Sunday night. The game was very tight, as both teams left little margin for error. A two-run top of the fifth for Chatham proved costly for Nova Scotia, who could not catch up. A double drove in a single run for Nova Scotia in the bottom of the seventh, but it was ultimately to no avail.
Chatham went undefeated at the Men’s Championship. They received plenty of hometown support at Ironmen Field. Plenty of hosting cities have played well at the 2019 National Championships this Summer, but Chatham is the first to go all the way and win gold.
British Columbia took bronze in New Brunswick with a shutout 7-0 win over Québec. Shawn Schaefer had two RBI, two hits, and two runs. Braeden Allemann, Jacob Mahon, and Dylan Rehmke combined pitching their talent for the shutout from the mound.
Scores:
Chatham (Host) 3, British Columbia 2
Nova Scotia 3, Québec 1
BRONZE - British Columbia 7, Québec 0
GOLD - Chatham (Host) 3, Nova Scotia 2