| Game 22: New Brunswick 6 Alberta 5 |
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COLLIN GALLANT This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it New Brunswick chipped back from 2-0 and 4-3 deficits to Alberta in Friday night’s feature game at the baseball Canada Cup at Athletic Park. They also took over first place in Pool B with a 6-5 win over the hosts, while Alberta’s hopes of a medal got much more complicated. “You can’t expect to go this tournament without a hiccup,” said Harold Northcott, coach of the Alberta squad whose record falls 3-1, including an extra-innings win over P.E.I on Thursday. “Last night we dodged (that hiccup). Tonight we took it square on.” Medicine Hat native Joel Lutz hammered a solo, game-tying home run to lead off the fourth, but Alberta committed four errors as New Brunswick rallied late and held on to win. “New Brunswick doesn’t make an error, we make four. They’re a scrappy team, they played well,” said Northcott. “We’re a gutsy team, really tough kids and we’ll come back hard.” Alberta (3-1) faces Nova Scotia (2-2) at 9 a.m. Saturday morning to conclude the round robin. They need a win to avoid a tie-breaker game and enter Saturday night’s medal-round qualifying game against Pool A’s third-place finisher. New Brunswick (3-1) can lock up a spot in Sunday’s semifinal against the Pool A winner faces with a win today over still winless Newfoundland and Labrador, 3 p.m. at Athletic Park. “We know that we control our own destiny,” said New Brunswick general manager Kevin Bowes. “We win that game (Saturday) and we’re in the medal round with two shots at a medal.” “Our pitcher really battled for us tonight and I loved the way we swung the bats.” New Brunswick starter Dan McNeil threw six strong innings, spreading out seven hits and walking two. Alberta starter Steven Inch allowed six hits, but only one outside a three-run rally by New Brunswick in the third. They scored three more in the sixth where outfielder Josh Dewitt poked a two-run single for New Brunswick, who went 4-1 in last year’s round robin. “We had a really good team last year, and it’s pretty much the same team,” said McNeil. Alberta stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when designated hitter Matt Biollo hit a two-run double that scored Dan Wiun and Adam Nelabowich. New Brunswick rallied back in the bottom of the second to take a 3-2 lead as catcher McCarthy and centre-fielder Aaron Noel slammed back-to-back doubles. Lutz (2-for-3) belted a lead-off, first pitch home run in the fourth inning and later in the frame Scott Gerun (three walks, all via beanballs) gave Alberta a 4-3 lead on an RBI from Mitch Frey. McCarthy (1-for-2) scored on a wild pitch in the sixth to tie the game 4-4 and New Brunswick put runners on second and third before Inch was replaced on the mound by Andrew Malone (two hits over four outs). Dewitt (1-for-4) chipped a 1-2 pitch into left field to score two, and New Brunswick led 6-4. Alberta put two on with two out in the sixth but couldn’t get a run across. McNeil pitched to one batter in the seventh. Reliever Ben Sollows finished off the game, trading an Alberta run for the frame’s second out. |
