The Canucks overcame a 9-2 deficit with a seven-run sixth inning to take a 10-9 victory over the Battlefords Beavers in the second game of their round robin Saturday at Ross Wells Park. Unfortunately for the local squad, that would be the lone highlight as they capped the event with a 12-0 loss to the Saskatoon Blue Jays in their final round robin game before losing 19-8 to the Weyburn Beavers in a tiebreaker Sunday morning.
The Unity Cardinals would go on to defeat the Blue Jays 9-5 to claim the provincial title.
Canucks 10, Battlefords 9
Chase Coward singled to open the seventh inning, moved to third on a base hit by Cam O’Reilly and came around to score the walk-off game-winning run on a long fly ball off the bat of Cole Breitkruez to pick up their lone win of the tournament.
The victory capped a stunning comeback that saw the Canucks score seven runs in the sixth inning, sending 11 batters to the plate and taking advantage of a handful of Battlefords miscues to tie the game 9-9.
Evan Callaghan led the Moose Jaw offence, going 2-for-4 with a pair of triples, a run scored and two runs batted in. Coward finished the game 2-for-2 with two runs scored while Riley Skarbon also knocked in a pair with his lone hit of the game.
O’Reilly, Tyler Lorenz, Sam Caplette and Cole Breitkreuz also had two hits each.
Jake Kindiak got the start on the mound and surrendered seven runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings of work. Jeremy Kohl tossed the final 3 2/3 and held the fort the rest of the way, only allowing two runs on seven hits as the Canucks mounted their comeback.
Saskatoon 12, Canucks 0
The Canucks were unable to keep that momentum going in their final round robin game later that night, as the Blue Jays blew open a 2-0 game with seven runs in the third and three more in the fourth to invoke the mercy rule.
Mackenzie Wallace went the distance for Saskatoon, allowing only two hits and striking out five in five innings of work.
Nick Daly, Ryley Gross and Quincey Johnson all saw action on the mound for Moose Jaw.
Callaghan and Caplette had the only Canucks hits.
Weyburn 19, Canucks 8
There was no shortage of offence in the Sunday morning tiebreaker, with the two teams going back-and-forth at the plate as Weyburn built a 10-5 lead in the first two innings.
The Beavers bats never cooled off, though, and they extended their lead to 13-7 through four innings before tacking on four runs in the fifth and two in the sixth to close out the contest.
Moose Jaw had only five hits but took advantage of five Weyburn errors to score their runs. Skarbon and Breitkruez each crossed the plate twice for the Canucks.
Weyburn, on the other hand, needed no such help in the field as they racked up 27 hits. Jaxon Chartrand finished 5-for-6 with five runs scored while Nolan Ling went 5-for-6 with six RBI.
Callaghan, Lorenz, O’Reilly and Daly all saw action on the mound for Moose Jaw.
