Seven wins for Quebec at nationals, day 2
* Quebec’s Samuel Groleau (St-Laurent) helped pave the way to a 13-3 win over Saskatchewan with a pair of hits at the national junior championships ….
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Letters of Intent
RYAN MORISSETTE Day 1 — Three wins for each for Quebec, Ontario
By Ryan Morissette
The theme for Day II: Score early. In almost every game, the winning team has taken the lead within the first couple of innings and never looked back. We will see if this trend continues within the games later today.
Both tournament are now well underway with each team trying to battle for positions in the medal round.
Juniors
Québec 13 Saskatchewan 3
Québec plated at least one run in every inning that helped them cruise past Saskatchewan 13-3. Québec’s bats started strong right away as they put three runs on board heading into the second inning. Seven different players drove in at least one run for Québec, led by two each from Samuel Groleau (St-Laurent), Joël Sébastien (Gatineau) and Alexandre Béland (Trois-Rivières). Pitcher Kevin Spénard (Le Gardeur) tossed all six innings in the win.
Ontario (1) 12 New Brunswick 2
Ontario stormed out of the gate with four quick first inning runs and never looked back en route to a 12-2 mercy win over New Brunswick. The game lasted only five innings. Second baseman Brandon Collins (Toronto) had two RBIs and three runs scored for Ontario while his double-play partner Joel Cooper (Lasalle) was perfect at the plate with three hits. Chris Renaud (Windsor) pitched all five innings for the win.
Nova Scotia 10 Newfoundland and Labrador 2
Mark Baigent (Halifax) fanned nine batters over a complete seven innings while his offense did the rest in a 10-2 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador. Tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, Nova Scotia exploded for eight runs the rest of the way. Chris Schrider (Dartmouth) hit grand slam home run in the sixth inning to help seal the victory, while Brett McGinnis (Dartmouth) contributed in a big way with three hits and three runs scored.
Manitoba 4 BC 1
Elliot Desilets (Elie) was superb on the mound for Manitoba, allowing only one hit and one unearned run over seven full innings. Ryan Ozunko (Winnipeg) provided some offense for his pitcher with two RBI, while catcher Nathan Christiuk (Dufrost) had two hits and two runs scored. Thomas Bidzinski (Nanaimo) had the lone hit and RBI for his club.
Ontario (2) 12 Saskatchewan 4
Ontario raced out to a five run lead after three innings and held on for a decisive eight run victory. The top of the order for Ontario provided most of the damage, as Curtis Lambkin (Belle River), Eric Carducci (Tecumseh) and Andrew Cooper combined for nine hits, seven RBIs and five runs scored. Scott Mostoway (Saskatoon) had two hits and three RBIs for his club.
Québec 13 Newfoundland and Labrador 3
Québec finished the game like they started it, scoring four runs in the sixth after scoring five in the first to defeat Newfoundland and Labrador by a wide gap. Every player in the Québec starting lineup contributed as they each scored at least one hit, and eight different players scored at least one run. Starting pitcher Jacob Gosselin Deschenes (St-Hyacinthe) picked up the win in six innings of work.
Trois-Rivières 7 New Brunswick 6
The hosts capped off day two with a dramatic extra innings win over New Brunswick. After scoring two go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth inning, New Brunswick made it interesting in the bottom half scoring one run before Québec pitcher Alex Blais (Ste-Julie) shut the door to secure the win. Mike Washburn (Fredericton) had a home run and three RBI in his club’s losing effort.
Midget Championship
Ontario 11 Newfoundland and Labrador 2
Ontario got on the board early with four first inning runs, and pitcher Kyle Zimmer (London) fanned nine batters over five solid innings to help lead Ontario to a victory over Newfoundland and Labrador. Half of Ontario’s 12 hits were for extra bases, led by Mike Ambrose’s (London) two doubles. He finished the game going a perfect 3-for-3.
Québec 11 Nova Scotia 2
After giving up a run to start the game, Québec settled down and scored nine runs over the next four innings to coast past Nova Scotia 11-2. Simon Loranger (Trois-Rivières) had a big day at the plate for Québec, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a home run. Starting pitcher Francis Desilets (St-Maurice) pitched a full seven innings to earn the win.
Saskatchewan 12 Manitoba 4
Saskatchewan scored all 12 of their runs within the first four innings, helping them to defeat Manitoba by a six run margin. Taking advantage of some defensive miscues by Manitoba, Saskatchewan kept extending the lead in every inning up until the fifth. Catcher Brayden Resch (Saskatoon) scored three times over the course of the game and also finished with a RBI.
Québec City 7 New Brunswick 0
The hosts supplied all their offensive prowess within the first two innings, and then let their pitching and defense guide them the rest of the way. David Glaude (Québec) steered the offense with two hits and two RBI while pitchers Olivier Dolbec (Québec) and Vincent Thibeault (Québec) were spectacular on the mound in the shutout win.
PEI 7 Nova Scotia 2
Down 2-0 heading into their last at-bat, PEI exploded for seven runs in the top of the seventh inning to blow past Nova Scotia 7-2. Third baseman Connor Myers (Peakes) hit a two run double to help his club to victory. Seven different players scored runs for PEI, who captured their first victory of the tournament.
BC 5 Alberta 4
Matt Strother’s (Maple Ridge) game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted BC to the tight one run victory over their provincial neighbours. Strother finished his strong day with two hits and two RBI. The bottom of the order provided most of the offense for Alberta as their 7-8-9 hitters all had one RBI each in the defeat.
Québec 4 PEI 1
The middle of the order did their job as Québec defeated PEI by a count of 4-1. Québec’s 3-4-5 hitters all had an RBI each, and Vincent Dessy (Lassomption) picked up the win on the mound by throwing a strong 2 2/3 innings of relief and striking out three in the process.
Saskatchewan 10 New Brunswick 0
A balanced offensive attack helped guide Saskatchewan in hammering out a 10-0 victory in a shortened five inning game because of the mercy rule. Jered Andreychuk (Saskatoon) and Brandon Beaudin-Herney (Regina) drove in two runs each while Ty Nostbakken (Regina) lasted all five innings on the mound.
Québec City 7 Newfoundland and Labrador 3
The host team from Québec City used only one inning to power their way past Newfoundland and Labrador. A seven run fourth inning led by a David Glaude (Québec) bases clearing triple helped lift lead them to the win. Designated hitter Brandon Jackson (Paradise) had two walks and a run scored in his squad’s losing effort.
Ontario 8 Manitoba 2
Ontario finished off a perfect day by defeated Manitoba by a score of 8-2. Andrew Warner (London) led the offense for Ontario, ending the game with three hits, three RBI and two runs scored. Sean Refflinghaus (London) had two hits, including a home run. Catcher Cody Groen (Winnipeg) had two hits for his club.
Reminder: Every game from the Junior and Midget National Championships can be followed LIVE at Pointstreak. For further information on the competing teams, schedules and standings for the Junior tournament, please click HERE; for the Midget championship click HERE.
