So far, so good for the Moose Jaw Canucks at the Baseball Sask 13U AAA championship in Saskatoon.
The Canucks opened the tournament with a 24-5 victory over the Swift Current 57’s on Friday night and followed up with a 12-11 win over the Saskatoon Blue Jays in their first game on Saturday, giving themselves a shot at a playoff spot heading into their final round robin game.
Things couldn’t have gone much better for the Canucks in their first outing, as they’d turn a low-scoring game through the first two innings into an utter blowout.
Three runs in the third inning got things started, and they’d tack on another five in the fourth, one in the fifth before sending 15 batters to the plate and scoring 12 runs in the final inning.
Zaid Guillaume was one of the offensive leaders, scoring four runs in six trips to the plate, including a home run in the seventh.
Jackson Boyle and Van Glasser also crossed the plate four times each, with Glasser using some solid plate discipline to create his offence by drawing three walks.
Neal Kohl reached base three times and had a double and triple on his ledger, also scoring a run. Cohen Symak, Riley Ducharme and Lucas Lind scored three runs each.
On the mound, Drayson Silbernagel, Dillon Flanagan and Kaiden Gadd all saw action and turned in effective showings to keep Swift Current off the board while Moose Jaw piled up the runs.
Game two against the Blue Jays saw the Canucks build a 9-3 lead through three innings before hanging on as Saskatoon attempted to rally. They made it a 9-8 game heading into the bottom of the fifth when Moose Jaw put up three runs, but the Jays would get those back in the top of the sixth.
Symak would finish things off, though, getting a double play for the final two outs in the top of the seventh.
Kohl led the way for Canucks offence, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and four RBI, while Lind was 2-for-2 with a pair of runs and RBI. Symak and Gadd also crossed the plate twice each.
Glasser got the start and allow five runs, four earned, over 4 ⅓ innings of work, striking out three. Ducharme was bit by errors and gave up three unearned runs without getting an out in the fifth before Lind finished the inning and ended up allowing three runs on two hits over 1 ⅔, striking out three. Symak then finished things off, giving up a single hit in the seventh before getting his double play.
The Canucks will have their work cut out for them in their final round robin game, as they face the Sask 5 Giants, owners of a 20-5 record in the Baseball Saskatoon 13U AAA league this season. A win there guarantees a playoff spot, otherwise they’ll have to be the best non-pool-winning team with a 2-1 record to reach the semis.
The gold medal game is set for 3 p.m. Sunday at Zeman Diamond in Saskatoon.
