Oklahoma City, OK – Despite their valiant efforts, Canada’s Men’s and Women’s Slo-Pitch teams both suffered defeats on the final day of the 2024 Border Battle, with Team USA ultimately claiming the Border Battle XIV title.
Canada’s Women’s Slo-Pitch Team
The Canadian Women’s team entered the final game on Saturday against the U.S. riding a three-game winning streak, having secured a 4-3 victory over JMI Sports and sweeping Tobert’s All-Stars with scores of 22-2 and 16-2. However, they also faced two defeats earlier in the week against JMI Sports and the U.S. Women’s Futures.
Canada concluded the weekend with a 3-3 record after falling 0-12 to the undefeated U.S. Women’s National Team in their final game. Despite their efforts at the plate, where they put the ball in play consistently, the strong U.S. defense limited them to just six hits. Heather Ryder (Sebringville, Ont.) led Canada with two hits in two at-bats.
Michelle Lorenz (Toronto, Ont.) started as the pitcher for Canada, striking out one and allowing 12 runs on 18 hits over 3.1 innings. Marnie Scow (Port Hardy, B.C.) provided relief for the remaining 0.2 innings, allowing only one hit.
Offensively, Canada finished the weekend with a combined .381 batting average, tallying 56 hits and 51 total runs. Tina Gulbrandsen (Port Moody, B.C.) led Team Canada with a .467 batting average, followed closely by Jacqueline O’Quinn (Toronto, Ont.) (.400), who also led the team with eight RBIs.
Canada’s Men’s Slo-Pitch Team
The Canadian Men’s team ended the weekend with a 4-2 record, with their only losses coming against the U.S. Men’s Futures and U.S. Men’s National Team. Canada’s victories were all decisive run-rule wins, defeating Elevate & Celebrate 33-12 and 30-13, and GGC/TWP 31-11 and 43-14.
In their final game against the U.S. Men’s National Team, Canada took an early lead in the first inning with solo home runs by Steele Lewis (Essex, Ont.) and Hunter Platten (Sherwood Park, Alta.), while their defense kept Team USA scoreless. The U.S. responded in the second inning, taking a 4-2 lead, but Canada regained the lead in the third with home runs by Colin Andrews (Hanover, Ont.) and Platten, making it 5-4.
However, the U.S. surged ahead in the bottom of the third with 10 runs. Canada closed the gap in the fifth inning, adding seven runs, including a two-run homer by Jeff Kemp (Paris, Ont.), a solo homer by Dave Goulet (Sherbrooke, Que.), and two more two-run homers by Connor Prentice (Surrey, B.C.) and Justin Pennell (Toronto, Ont.), making it 12-14.
Heading into the sixth inning, the U.S. extended their lead to 21-13 with a solo homer, a double scoring one, and two two-run homers. In their last at-bat in the seventh, Canada managed one final run, with Lewis starting with a double and Kyle Knechtel (Ayr, Ont.) scoring him with another double, capping the score at 21-14 for Team USA.
Combining for a .646 batting average, 181 hits, and 172 total runs over six games, Kyle Knechtel led Team Canada with a .842 batting average, followed by Hunter Platten (.815). Steele Lewis led in home runs with nine, followed by Platten with seven.
