BC Captures Gold While Newfoundland Stages an Unforgettable Canada Games

BC once again stood for Best in Canada as the Canada Summer Games.

By Ryan Sweeney

Premier Baseball Academy

A look back at Canada’s Summer Games action in St. John’s ..

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Canada Games Men's Baseball 2025 pictures by SnapbyPam

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Newfoundland Opens with Split on Day One

Under a sweltering heat wave, with wildfires and evacuations nearby, Newfoundland and Labrador hosted the Canada Summer Games for the first time since 1977—and the home side came out swinging. In Game 1, they opened in dramatic fashion before a sold-out St. Pat’s Ballpark crowd against Manitoba.

Newfoundland’s Graham Noseworthy (Paradise) picked up the save in the win against Manitoba.

Top of the first, bases loaded, no outs: Alex McGrath (St. John’s) delivered a defensive play of the tournament, a highlight—racing catch deep into right to snag a drive and firing a laser to the plate to double off the runner, and the crowd erupted. After scratching out a couple of early runs, Kieran Cutler (Paradise), who is headed to McCook Community College, detonated a massive second-inning grand slam over the left-field monster, bringing the stands to a rolling roar and giving Team NL a 6–0 cushion. Manitoba mounted a late charge, but Graham Noseworthy (Paradise) slammed the door with the save to preserve a 9–7 win.

Game 2 produced another spectacle. Facing Nova Scotia before one of the largest crowds of the entire Games —4,000 to 5,000 fans — NL struck first. McGrath punished an 85-mph fastball from Tyler Mitchell (Halifax), sending a three-run line-drive shot screaming over the right-centre fence, producing the loudest burst of noise all week.

Newfoundland’s Kieran Cutler reacting to Alex McGrath’s home run against Nova Scotia.

But Mitchell locked in from there, shutting out Newfoundland the rest of the way and sealing a 9–3 win—capped with a dramatic “shh” gesture to the stunned home crowd. The victory lifted Nova Scotia to 2–0 on Day One, briefly atop the B-division standings.

Tournament Round-Robin

B Division

Nova Scotia’s early surge fizzled as they dropped back-to-back games to Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, tumbling out of playoff contention. Manitoba regrouped from its opening loss to NL to secure second place and a quarter-final berth. PEI, meanwhile, turned heads with near-perfect ball all week long. Closing the round-robin against NL, PEI survived a wild showdown, literally filled with smoke and fire (play nearly halted at Team Gushue Park) while fending off a five-run, bases-loaded seventh-inning comeback by Team NL. They would go on to win 10–8, and the triumph sealed a 4–0 record and first place in the B division.

A Division

Drama also ruled the A side. Alberta clinched the final playoff berth with a late comeback over 2022 Canada Games champ Ontario, knocking them from the playoffs and ending hopes of a repeat. Saskatchewan and Quebec each finished 2–2, while British Columbia wrapped up top spot at 3–1.

Playoff Highlights

With round-robin play complete, the seeding games and playoffs were set:

5A vs 5B: Newfoundland vs Ontario

3B vs 4B: Nova Scotia vs New Brunswick

2A vs 3A: Quebec vs Saskatchewan

1A vs 1B: British Columbia vs Prince Edward Island

With the 17U format, Manitoba and Alberta waited in their quarter-final spots to face the eventual losers of the 2A-vs-3A and 1A-vs-1B showdowns (those team teams got a chance at double-life).

Will Parsons (Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s) faced Ontario.

In Newfoundland’s tilt with Ontario, the teams were tied 1–1 in the fifth when Christian Iriotskis (Toronto) ripped a scorching line drive off switch-handed starter Will Parsons (Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s), of the University of British Columbia JVs. Parsons was adamant to stay on the mound, but the momentum swing was unmistakable. Ontario erupted for a decisive rally, and Missouri State commit Noah Powell (Willowdale) finished a masterpiece with a complete-game, three-hit, 11-strikeout gem—securing Ontario a 9–1 win.

The Saskatchewan–Quebec matchup produced one of the week’s most bizarre and dramatic moments. In extra innings, an apparent bases-loaded walk-off hit-by-pitch was initially ruled the final out because the runner on first base hadn’t touched second. After review by tournament officials, the call was overturned, rightly handing Saskatchewan their 8–7 victory and a berth in the semis.

In the 1A-vs-1B clash, PEI delivered its cleanest performance yet—sharp on the mound, flawless on defence, and opportunistic at the plate—in a 3–1 upset of BC to punch their ticket to the semi-finals.

With their quarter-final safety net intact, BC and Quebec roared back. BC downed Manitoba 4–2, while Quebec edged Alberta 4–3 on a dramatic walk-off squeeze bunt.

To complete the playoffs, the semifinals brought vengeance. BC silenced PEI 7–0, ending the Islanders’ Cinderella story, while Quebec dispatched Saskatchewan 9–4.

Consolation Games

Ontario erupted for six runs in the fourth to power past Nova Scotia 10–3 and capture seventh place. Alberta blanked Manitoba 4–0 to claim fifth. Newfoundland bookended its weekend with a 9–5 win over New Brunswick, highlighted by Luke Hatcher (Conception Bay South) and his second pitching victory, another save from Noseworthy and Cutler’s second long ball of the week.

Medal Round

From a summer-long heat wave to a morning frost warning, conditions flipped overnight as St. Pat’s Ballpark hosted the medal games on a crisp Saturday evening.

In the bronze-medal matchup, Saskatchewan clawed back from a 2–0 deficit, scoring twice in both the second and third innings and locking down PEI the rest of the way for a 4–2 win.

BC’s Oscat Leah (Maple Ridge, BC) goes deep.

The gold-medal final — a rematch of o2024 Canada Cup championship in Fort McMurray — proved far closer than BC’s previous 13–0 rout of Quebec. With the score deadlocked 2–2 in the fourth, BC nine-hole hitter Oscar Leah (Maple Ridge) turned on a Fenway Park-style solo homer over St. Pat’s short porch in right. Cole Dorland (Langley) slammed the door with four strikeouts over the final three innings to secure a 3–2 victory and the national crown for Team BC.

Tournament Highlights & Top Performers

Team NL

Kieran Cutler (Paradise): .450 average, 9 hits, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 10 runs, 5 stolen bases

BC’s Desmond Tregaskis (Tsawwassen) closes it out,

Team BC

Desmond Tregaskis (Tsawwassen) and Tyler McWhinnie (Nanaimo) two wins each on the mound

Dylan De Meyer (Abbotsford) and Kadyn Armitage (Surrey): 4 doubles apiece, driving in eight and nine runs respectively.

Team Quebec

Lucas St-Laurent (ascot Corner): complete-game two-hitter with six strikeouts against Alberta in a must-win

William Nolet (Saint-Gilles): 10 hits, 6 RBI, 5 runs.

Team Saskatchewan

Trentin Kooy (Saskatoon): .409 average, 9 hits

Casey Rauckman (Saskatoon): 11 innings, 2 wins, 2.55 ERA

Team PEI

Rylan McPhail (Cornwall): 9 hits, 2 doubles, 5 RBI, 4 runs

Chase Desroches (Cornwall): 10 innings on 139 pitches, 1.40 ERA, 1.10 WHIP

Alberta

Daril Rodriguez (Red Deer): .421 average, 2 HR in one game

Tyson Kajmowicz (Calgary): 5 scoreless innings over two outings

Manitoba

Chase Derksen (Oak Bluff): .615 average (8-for-13)

Andrew Giesbrecht (Altoona) : 5 1/3 scoreless innings

Ontario

Will Henderson (Mississauga): .389 average, 7 hits, 4 RBI, 10 runs, 7 stolen bases

Noah Powell (Willowdale): complete-game 3-hitter, 11 Ks, 0.00 ERA

Nova Scotia

Noah McIntosh (Halifax): .400 average, 8 singles, 3 RBI, 3 runs

Thomas Mitchell (Halifax): 8 IP, 2.65 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

New Brunswick

Keaton Hill (Fredericton): .429 average, 6 hits

Closing

It wasn’t the finish Team Newfoundland had hoped for, but with two wins, unforgettable crowd-pleasing moments, a shout out from Baseball Canada for the sharpest uniforms, and the off-field drama of smoke, fire, and shifting weather, the 2025 Canada Games will long be remembered in St. John’s and beyond.

Sweeney: Summer Games title, hosted by St. John's. goes to BC -- Updated