| Game 20: Québec 2 British Columbia 1 |
|
COLLIN GALLANT This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Sasha Lagarde led off the eighth inning with a 390-foot home run to near straightaway centre-field and Québec beat B.C. 2-1 Friday at Jeffries Park. “It’s always fun to win on a home run,” said Legarde. “Especially when the games are close with good pitching.” The third baseman from Pierrefonds, Que, said a mouthful about the tight two and a half hour contest that pitted Québec starter Maxime Savoie against B.C. lefty Ethan Stewart. B.C. batter Alex Calbick almost extended the extra-inning affair, launching a towering drive that Québec centre-fielder Charles-Antoine St. Hilaire had to race for, checking for over both shoulders before snagging it at the warning track for the final out. Québec (3-2) entered the day with a 1-2 record, but pounded Saskatchewan 9-3 early and faces Ontario (4-1) on Saturday, noon at Athletic Park to conclude their round robin schedule. B.C. (2-3) meets Saskatchewan at the same time at Jeffries, looking to get their bats going prior to Sunday’s playoff round. “Big time disappointment, but that’s what happens when you don’t hit,” said B.C. coach John Haar, whose squad lost its third straight one-run game, including an 11-inning affair 4-3 earlier in the day to Ontario. “We have no complaints whatsoever with our pitching. As a group we hit maybe two hard balls all game, including the last one (from Calbick). “We’re asking our pitchers to throw a shutout every time, and that’s too much. We have to take some responsibility as a hitting group.” On Friday, Québec led 1-0 in the first inning when shortstop Samuel Domingue scored on a single to left-field by Julien Casaubon (2-for-3). The slim lead held as starter Savoie retired 15 of the first 17 batters he faced, allowing just a walk and then a single to Calbick (2-for-3) by the sixth inning. That’s when B.C. catcher Ben Armstrong reached on an error when his grounder to first base took a weird hop. He was batted over, then scored on an overthrow to first-base. Reliever Yan Fortin replaced Savoie to get the final out of the seventh, then pitched a 1-2-3 final frame. “We had a huge effort from our pitchers today,” said Québec head coach Joel Landry. “Our starter Savoie… gave us seven good innings and at this point in the tournament it’s important to get innings out of your pitchers. “You don’t want to go to your bullpen early in the game and use up pitching from the next game. “Our closer, Fortin, this was his second outing against B.C. he comes in with the game on the line and got the win.” On the other side of the pitching line, B.C. starter Stewart was equally strong (one hit and five strikeouts over six innings). He gave way to reliever Steve McKinnon (four strikeouts), who gave up just one hit — Legarde’s homer — over the final two frames. |
