| Game 35 (Gold): Ontario 8 British Columbia 6 |
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Ontario wins title in shootout DARREN STEINKE This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Jason Chee-Aloy loves it when the Baseball Canada Cup is in Medicine Hat, because his Ontario club always wins. On Sunday night at Athletic Park, Ontario outlasted British Columbia in an 8-6 shootout that saw five lead changes to claim the tournament title for the third time in four years. Those three championships all occured when the Canada Cup was held in the Hat, and Chee-Aloy was the head coach for all of those teams. Last year, B.C. won the tournament title, when the event was held in Québec City. “I think I might have to move here. Things seem to be good for me in Medicine Hat,” said Chee-Aloy with a chuckle. “In all seriousness, the team played well. “They (the championships) are all sweet. There is something special about the first one in 2005, but all three of the wins here have been nailbiters. We’re just happy to pull them all out.” With B.C. leading 6-5 going into the bottom of the sixth, Ontario had one last surge to go ahead 8-6. Facing a situation with the bases loaded and one out, Andrew Firth hit a two RBI double to score the first two runs of the rally. Shortstop Maxx Tissenbaum, who was named the top defensive player of the tournament, drove in the final run on a sacrifice grounder. In the top of the seventh, Ontario reliever Brett Van Pelt struck out the side to preserve the win. B.C. head coach John Haar felt the final was an entertaining one for the crowd of about 1,000, but he felt his pitching staff had a bad day. Like Ontario, B.C. sent four hurlers to the hill. “This is a tough one, because we did battle back twice,” said Haar, whose club was in the final for a 10th straight year. “We had our big guys our horses ready and healthy to go. They just couldn’t get it done right from the beginning.” The game also featured a couple of nice solo home runs. In the top of the fourth, Brooklyn Foster, a catcher who was playing in left field, launched a solo bomb over the left-field fence to tie the game 2-2. With B.C. leading 4-2, Ontario power hitter Tanner Nivins led off the bottom of the fifth with a monster home run to centre left to make the score 4-3. That started a rally that pushed Ontario back on top 5-4. In this back-and-forth battle, B.C. against went out in front 6-5 scoring two runs in the top of the sixth thanks to an RBI triple by Wes Darvill and an RBI double by Antonio Paolini. However, those runs were not able to help B.C. in the end. “It was a roller-coaster,” said Foster. “They beat us, and there is not much we can do about it. “We tried our hardest. In the end, they got lucky I guess.” Johnathon Solazzo was credited with the pitching in for Ontario, while Van Pelt picked up a save. Jason Gibson was tagged for the loss for B.C. Ontario finished the tournament winning their final seven contests and posting a 7-1 overall record. For the Ontario players, they head home with a lot of great memories. “I just can’t really explain it,” said Nivins. “It is something that comes in a dream. “We just worked hard for it, and things paid off.” |
