Canada Summer Games – Softball Playoff Results
(Sherbrooke, QC) After five days of preliminary round games, the women’s softball playoff and consolation rounds began on Thursday to determine which teams would be playing in the medal round and the consolation final on Friday. Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario all came in to the playoff round with 8-1 records, with Manitoba and Quebec earning two lives in the Page playoff system. Ontario faced a must-win game against British Columbia, with the winner moving on to face the loser between Quebec and Manitoba and the losing team finishing fourth. In addition, a consolation playoff round was held for the first time, with the six teams who did not qualify for the playoff round competing to determine the final standings.  Playoff Round  Manitoba 6 vs. Quebec 5  In the game between the two top teams in the preliminary round, Manitoba never held the lead until a walk-off double by Hailey Unger (Winnipeg, MB) in the bottom of the seventh inning. Quebec jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second, but Manitoba scored a run in the bottom of the frame and added three more in the third to tie the game. The teams exchanged runs in the sixth, setting the stage for Unger’s game-winning hit. Rochelle Flanagan (Beaconsfield, QC) and Sabrina Matteau (Chateauguay, QC) each had a pair of hits for Quebec, while Corinne Brookhuis (East York, ON) delivered a bases-loaded double that ended up clearing the bases after a Manitoba error. Mia Gautron (Winnipeg, MB) had a two-run double for Manitoba, with Tara Nykoluk (Winnipeg, MB), Brigitte Gauvin (Winnipeg, MB) and Unger all notching two hits.  British Columbia 3 vs. Ontario 0  With a spot in the medal round on the line, Tori Belton (Langley, BC) scattered seven hits over seven innings to keep Ontario off the scoreboard for the shutout win. Emma Entzminger (Victoria, BC) broke the scoreless tie with an RBI double in the top of the fourth, and BC added two insurance runs on an error and a run-scoring single by pinch-hitter Jennine Walsh (Langley, BC) in the top of the sixth. Ontario put runners at second and third in the bottom of the sixth, but could not get the big hit when they needed it to get back in the game. Janet Leung (Mississauga, ON) provided two hits for Ontario, with five other players registering singles. British Columbia only produced five hits, including Entzminger’s double and Walsh’s RBI single.  With their win, Manitoba earned a direct berth to the Gold medal game at 3:30pm at Bureau Park on Friday, while Quebec will take on British Columbia at 12:00pm at Bureau with the winner moving on to face Manitoba. The losing team will be awarded the Bronze medal.  Consolation Round  Nova Scotia 9 vs. Newfoundland & Labrador 5  In the first game of the consolation round, Nova Scotia erased a 5-1 deficit by scoring six runs in the bottom of the third and adding two more in the fourth to defeat Newfoundland and Labrador. The pitching duo of Brittany Sullivan (Mineville, NS) and Andrea Williams (Park Falls, NS) limited Newfoundland and Labrador to only three hits, but allowed four unearned runs on a pair of errors. Taylor MacLeod Canning (Stellarton, NS) had two hits and two runs batted in, while Melinda Parsons had a double and two singles for Nova Scotia. Kelsey Brumm (Dartmouth, NS) and Carrissa Carey (Sydney Mines, NS) also delivered two hits. Janie O’Leary (Holyrood, NL) delivered a two-run single for Newfoundland and Labrador.  New Brunswick 3 vs. Prince Edward Island 2
Samantha DeBortoli (Saint John, NB) and Chelsea Darrach faced off in a great pitching matchup between the two Maritime teams. After Prince Edward Island opened the scoring on an RBI single by Clara Wood in the bottom of the second, New Brunswick took advantage of an error to tie the game in the top of the fourth before getting an RBI single by Melissa Kenny (Moncton, NB) and a run-scoring double by Katie Carr (Rusagonis, NB) to open up a 3-1 lead. PEI cut the lead to one with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but was not able to score in the last two innings as New Brunswick notched the win. DeBortoli and Darrach each allowed only four hits, including two each by Wood and Kenny.  Saskatchewan 4 vs. Nova Scotia 0  Kenzie Friesen (Saskatoon, SK) only allowed three hits and struck out nine batters in seven innings and delivered a pair of RBI singles in the fourth and fifth innings as Saskatchewan defeated Nova Scotia 4-0. Alex Baylak (Regina, SK) and Regan Rucks (Warman, SK) hit RBI doubles to provide the rest of the offence for Saskatchewan. Allison Shunamon (Mount Uniacke, NS), Taylor MacLeod Canning and Andrea Williams each had a single for Nova Scotia in the loss.  New Brunswick 7 vs. Alberta 0  After winning only one game in the preliminary round, New Brunswick earned their second win of the day in the consolation round by shutting out Alberta 7-0. Samantha DeBortoli – pitching her second game of the day – fired a two-hitter and struck out 10 to earn her second complete game victory in the consolation round. New Brunswick opened the scoring with a run on an error in the top of the fourth, and went on to send ten batters to the plate in the fifth to score five runs, capped off by a two-run double by Megan Hayward (Rothesay, NB). DeBortoli delivered an RBI single in the top of the sixth as New Brunswick took the run-rule victory in six innings.  The consolation final scheduled for 1:00pm EDT at Desranleau Park will feature Saskatchewan taking New Brunswick to determine fifth and sixth place in the final standings.  Live scoring is available through the Softball Canada (www.softball.ca) and Canada Games (www.canadagames.ca) websites, while a live webcast with archived games is available at www.canadagames.tv.  -SC-
For more information, please contact:
Gilles LeBlanc Manager - Marketing and Communications Softball Canada (613) 523-3386 ext. 3105 gleblanc@softball.ca
