Prince Albert, Sask. – On Wednesday, Team Canada opened their campaign at the WBSC Softball Men’s World Cup Group B with a 7-1 victory over Hong Kong, China. 

Justin Schofield (Grand Pré, N.S.) delivered a standout performance on the mound for Canada, striking out 13 of the 16 batters he faced and allowing just one hit over five innings. Steven Normand (Calgary, Alta.) came in as relief, striking out four, giving up three hits, and allowing one run over the final two innings. 

Canada’s offense ignited in the bottom of the third inning. Mathieu Roy (St-Gervais, Que.) led off with a triple to left field, and Bryan Abrey (Richmond, B.C.) followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, driving in the first run to make it 1-0 for Canada. 

In the fourth inning, Canada extended their lead with three more runs. Jeff Lyons (Appin, Ont.) singled, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jordan Pomeroy (Placentia, N.L.), and moved to third on a groundout by Tyler Pauli (Mitchell, Ont.). Dallas Kipfer (Kitchener, Ont.) then reached third on an error, scoring Lyons. Nick White (Truro, N.S.) brought Kipfer home with a bunt single, and Abrey drove in White with a single to left field, ending the inning with a 4-0 lead. 

The fifth inning saw Canada adding two more runs. Lyons singled to right field, scoring Blake Hunter (Nanaimo, B.C.) and advancing Scott Nehaj (Maple Ridge, B.C.) to third. Pomeroy hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Nehaj to make it 6-0. 

Hong Kong, China scored one run in the sixth inning after a double to center field followed by a single making it 6-1. Canada responded in the bottom of the sixth, with Abrey doubling to score White for the final 7-1 scoreline. 

In the top of the seventh, Hong Kong, China got their first two batters on base, but Abrey’s throw to Kipfer at third secured the first out, and Normand struck out the next two batters to end the game. 

Box Score: Canada 7, Hong Kong, China 1. 

Team Canada is set for a doubleheader today, July 11, starting with game two against Singapore at 4:00 PM CST (6:00 PM EDT), followed by game three against Argentina at 7:00 PM CST (9:00 PM EDT).