Intensity heats up as
real games begin
Tomcats face New Brunswick in a 21U men's National baseball quarterfinal
after sinking Nova Scotia, 12-3, to finish pool play at 3-1
Saturday, August 18, 2018
By Rob J. Ross
ST. THOMAS (11 p.m.) - The quest for a medal now begins.
The St. Thomas Tomcats are one of six surviving teams, advancing from their pool, following a 12-3 sinking of Nova Scotia, at the 21U men's National baseball championship, at Emslie Field.
St. Thomas finishes pool play at 3-1 and will face New Brunswick (1-3), in a quarterfinal, 8:30 a.m. Sunday, at Emslie Field. The winner takes on Mississauga North (4-0), in the semifinals, at 12:30 p.m.
Lamont
Oshawa (3-1) faces Windsor (1-3), in the other quarterfinal, with that winner to play Quebec (4-0).
In their final pool game, New Brunswick beat Newfoundland-Labrador twice, first in the game, 8-3, then with three teams tied at 1-3, including Manitoba, in the tie breaker.
Pitcher Alex Lamont went the distance for St. Thomas, scattering five hits over seven innings, striking out 11 batters and walking two.
"I was really feeling the curve ball and spotting the fastball well," Lamont said. "They have a really good three hitter (Jake Sanford), so we made sure to be careful with him. I threw him mostly change-ups and off speed. I think we threw one fastball to him all game and it was the one he hit for a double, so we went back to the off speed."
Sanford made himself known, by winning the home run derby. He batted .500 for the tournament, including hitting two home runs.
Kevin Bowden and Tyler D'Alessandro led the St. Thomas offence against the Nova Scotia, driving in three runs each. D'Alessandro had three of the Tomcats' 13 hits, while Bowden, Jacob Mansfield and Rhett Roney, each had two singles.
Daniel Lichty had a two run double, drew two walks, scored a pair of runs and was hit by a pitch.
Bowden
The Tomcats shook off a tough close loss to Quebec six hours earlier, to secure their spot in the playoff round.
"It's tough at first (the loss), but we're here to play ball. We needed win to play tomorrow," said Bowden. "Everyone was loose, knowing what we had to do, trusting themselves and just putting the bat on the ball.
"Anything to help the guys win, that's what I'm here to do."
In the second inning, Nova Scotia's Sean Hubley and Tomcats' D'Alessandro traded two run singles.
Bowden gave the Tomcats a 4-2 lead in the third inning, before the host team exploded for three runs in the fourth and five more in the fifth.
The Tomcats were a run short of a mercy and that was alright with Lamont, who wanted seven innings, due to his pitch count making him unavailable to the team on Sunday.
"I was kind of happy because I wanted to finish the game because I'm done."
Austin Hassani will be on the hill for the Tomcats against New Brunswick.
Related articles:
Martin home runs lead Quebec over St. Thomas
Tomcats improve to 2-0 with late night win over Saskatchewan
St. Thomas defeats rival Windsor in 21U National opener
Nova Scotia's Sanford takes home run derby / Quebec, Oshawa, teams to beat
Tomcats set for 21U men's National championship
rob@hometownplay.ca