CHILLIWACK, B.C. -- The Moose Jaw Canucks got off to the start they were hoping for at the Western Canadian Baseball Association 13U AAA Championship.
The Canucks fell behind 4-0 in the first inning but steadily chipped away in the later frames, eventually going on to an 8-7 victory over the host Chilliwack Cougars on Thursday night to open round robin action.
After taking their early deficit, Moose Jaw got things going in the third inning, with Quentin Vanbocquestal knocking home Beckett Bauck and Blake Harris with their first two runs. Kaleb Friesen then hit a sacrifice fly to score Vanbocquestal, and the Canucks were in business.
Asher Harkness and Lennon Kleisinger scored runs in the fifth to give Moose Jaw their first lead, and they’d add two more insurance markers in the sixth. Evan Audette led off the inning and hit a 2-0 pitch over the centrefield fence for a home run to make it 6-4, and a Friesen double would bring home Daxon Mackow to make it a three-run game.
Griffin Audette stole home in the top of the seventh to make it 8-5 Moose Jaw and that would prove to be a crucial insurance run, as Chilliwack would score three in the bottom of the frame before seeing their final inning comeback come up short.
Bauck and Tanner Usher each went 2-for-4 for the Canucks, Friesen had a pair of runs batted in.
Kallen Berner started for Moose Jaw and allowed four runs, three earned on four hits in the first two innings, Kleisinger pitched the next three frames and allowed a single hit, striking out three. Griffin Audette allowed three runs in the seventh before giving way to Harris who recorded the final out and earned the win.
The Canucks were to play Manitoba’s South Central Cubs on Friday morning, but rain has descended on the southern B.C. coast, forcing the contest to be postponed until Saturday. Moose Jaw’s next scheduled game is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday against Alberta’s YQL Sluggers.
