| Game 29: Newfoundland 4 Nova Scotia 3 |
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SCOTT SCHMIDT This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it The Rock is not going home empty handed. Newfoundland entered its final contest Sunday morning looking for its first Baseball Canada Cup victory since the opening day of the 2005 tournament in Medicine Hat. For the first time all week, the club didn’t allow mistakes to cost them and prevailed 4-3, thanks to great pitching and a few timely knocks at the plate and finish the tourney in ninth place. With all of the self-inflicted bullet wounds in the feet of the Newfoundland players through the round robin, the club got tired of beating themselves and — though they pulled the trigger a few times on Sunday — were able to keep damage limited and pull out on top. “You know, it’s such a relief,” said head coach Scott Mercer. “We’ve been playing hard all week and lady luck wasn’t with us but it seemed to be with us today. “The boys played great and they were in it from the first pitch, and credit to them, it was so easy to come here and give up but they battled back and put everything in to it.” Newfoundland went with their ace on the mound and he didn’t disappoint. Brad Penney brought a refuse-to-lose attitude and — with the help of relief pitcher Sean Gamberg — held the Nova Scotia offence to just four hits. “When stuff happened (today) we settled down,” said Penney. “Everyone was up chattin’ on the bench, we were into the last two games. “(Saturday) we lost 10-3, but I thought we played good. Today, same thing, everyone up chattin’, pitching was good. The deuce was working today.” Penney used that 12/6 curve ball he loves in every situation, but when he had the hitter to two strikes, it seemed to have extra movement as it crossed the plate. Penney finished with 5 1-3 innings, picking up four strikeouts. Newfoundland’s big offensive push came in the second inning when the club jumped to a 3-0 lead. Right-fielder Kieran Buckingham cracked a double to the wall with the bases loaded to score the first two and then designated hitter Dylan Moss came home off a bases-loaded walk to pick up the third run. Penney and Gamberg made sure that lead was enough to win. After some fielding mistakes led to a few bases loaded jams which Penney escaped, Gamberg was called upon to hold a one-run lead because Penney’s pitch count climbed too high to continue. Gamberg had thrown in Saturday’s game too, but told Mercer that he not only was ready to go, but desperately wanted the chance. “It feels great, because we know now, we have confidence now,” said Gamberg, who struck out two and didn’t give up a hit in an inning and two thirds. “We hadn’t won a game in Canada Cup in about two or three years, so to win this for Newfoundland and for the guys here, we all gelled together as a team and we took it home. “We’re gonna take this win back (home) and make it count.” Throughout the entire tournament, the players, coaches, and parents of Newfoundland had kept their spirits high despite the tough 0-5 start. The win on Sunday meant the boys finished out of last place as well, a goal they had claimed from the beginning. “That was our goal from early on, that was our goal,” laughed Mercer. “It’s great to come out of (the bottom).” For Team Nova Scotia, it was the tournament that could’ve been. The club came in with lofty goals having finished sixth in 2007 and bringing two 18-year-old pitching veterans back for this year. However, tough losses early put the team out of contention. “Obviously we’re not feeling very good,” said head coach Ken Lenihan. “Especially leading up to today’s game, our hitting was doing well, but today we left a lot of guys on base. “It’s not easy for guys to get up for a late-placement game, but still, there’s pride and we just didn’t come and show the effort we had hoped to see.” |
