Less than a month after the Canada Cup Women’s International Softball Championship wrapped up in Surrey, the country’s baseball players got their chance to shine at the 2023 Baseball Canada Cup in Saskatchewan.
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This U17 tournament featured teams from each of the 10 provinces, with Team BC being slotted into the A pool alongside teams from Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.
Among the 20 Team BC players were four Maple Ridge stars – right-fielder Evan Dugdale, pitcher Carter Germain, catcher Keegan Drinkle, and pitcher Owen Fernandes.
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The tournament started with a tough loss for the B.C. squad, with them being on the wrong end of a 5-3 match against Team Ontario.
But the players regrouped and were able to come back the next day to win both games in their double-header against Team Nova Scotia, with Dugdale being responsible for two of the 12 Team BC runs in the second win of the day.
On Saturday, the team was edged out by Saskatchewan in their first matchup, suffering an 11-8 loss. But the rematch later that day was much more successful for Team BC, largely thanks to the pitching efforts of Fernandes, who held the Saskatchewan players to one run while notching seven strikeouts to secure a 6-1 win.
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The last match before the playoffs saw Team BC once again going up against Saskatchewan. The B.C. boys stacked up the runs, including one from Fernandes, leading to an 8-5 victory over the home team that put Team BC into the gold medal match against Team Ontario.
The batting skills were on full display for both teams in the finals, with eight different B.C. players scoring runs. Unfortunately, Ontario proved to be just too much for Team BC, forcing the B.C. squad to settle for a silver-medal finish after the 11-8 loss.
Make that a ✌️ gold medal weekend for Ontario 🥇
— Baseball Canada National Championships (@BaseballCANNats) August 15, 2023
Ontario claims an 11-8 victory over British Columbia in the Baseball Canada Cup finals to take home the Canadian title 🏆🇨🇦#BCanNats23 pic.twitter.com/PoN1AhEPIl
The U18 National Championships and U13 Western Championships are currently underway, with both B.C. teams expected to wrap up their games on Aug. 20.
Busy schedule ahead of Day1⃣ at the 18U and 13U Western National Championships in Fort McMurray!
— Baseball Canada National Championships (@BaseballCANNats) August 17, 2023
Don't miss the action!🏆🇨🇦
📺 (18U) https://t.co/4jvaMGW05u
📊 (18U) https://t.co/HB8iLblX1i
📊 (13U) https://t.co/ToSp4f8sEi#BCanNats23 pic.twitter.com/NUXCtJuofe
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