The Men’s Softball competition began after the ceremonial first pitch was thrown by legendary pitcher Pete Landers and his longtime catcher Bob Solomon, who were members of the first-ever gold-medal winning team at the 1969 Canada Games in Halifax.
 
Manitoba 7 vs. Alberta 0
 
In the first game of the tournament, Manitoba got on the board in the bottom of the first when Ethan Halcrow doubled to left and later scored on a single by Kenneth Thomas. The following inning, Nathan Burge led off with a double and Manitoba took advantage of three errors to bring three runs in to score. Team Toba kept things going in the third by getting a single from Henry Muchikekwnapae who later scored on a ground out to make it 5-0, followed by an error that allowed another run to score. A run-scoring single by Burge put the run rule into effect, and Manitoba turned a game-ending double play on a line drive to second. Jonah Ross-Broadburn fired a five-inning no-hitter, striking out six batters and walking five, while Burge doubled and singled and Troy Kemball contributed two singles. Tobie Opikokew took the loss for Alberta.
 
Ontario 10 vs. Newfoundland & Labrador 1
 
This game was close until Ontario exploded for seven runs in the top half of the fifth. Ontario opened the scoring when their leadoff batter walked followed by a double by Mitch McKay and a two-run single by Connor Brooks. Newfoundland & Labrador got one run back in the top of the third as Logan Power led off with a walk, was bunted over to second and scored on an error by the second baseman on the play. In the fourth, Owen Torrie doubled before scoring on a two-out double by Brooks to make the score 3-1. The following inning, Mac Mulvey was hit by a pitch and Kurt McCann double to put two runners in scoring position before both scored on an error. Ontario then took advantage of four walks and two more errors to push four more runs in to score. McCann earned the win allowing only one unearned run and striking out eight batters, while Marcus Pittman was the losing pitcher for Newfoundland. Adrian Green doubled for Team NL, with Liam Shea, Power and Ryan Maher each hitting a single.
 
Saskatchewan 14 vs. New Brunswick 0
 
Saskatchewan scored their first run on a homerun by Max Major in the first, then added two more on a two-run blast by Ryan Bicknell in followed by a solo shot by Will Major in the second. In the third, Oakley Durham hit an RBI single later followed by a two-run error to make the score 7-0. Saskatchewan then struck for seven runs in the top of the fourth, highlighted by a run-scoring single by Rayn Ray and a grand slam by Will Major. Troy Preymack fired a one-hitter over four innings, striking out nine batters. Zachary Daigle registered New Brunswick’s only hit with a single in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Nova Scotia 7 vs. British Columbia 0
 
After two scoreless innings, Nova Scotia got back-to-back homeruns by Nick White and Cameron Patton to take a 2-0 lead. The following inning, Callum Bouma led off with a triple to center and scored on a wild pitch, with Keegan Crowell later scoring on a sacrifice fly. In the bottom half of the fifth, White led off with a single and later scored on a double by Brody Fraser, then Brayden Woodworth hit a run-scoring single to left to end the game on the run rule. David Watson fired a one-hitter for Nova Scotia striking out 14 batters in five innings, with Nate Thiessen being saddled with the loss. Ethan Lans singled for Team BC in the loss.
 
Quebec 5 vs. Alberta 4
 
In the most exciting game of the day, neither team was able to score in the first and Quebec opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the second when Nathan Caron led off with a double followed by a single by Samy Pare before both runners scored on a double to center by Sharl Leclerc. Alberta cut the lead in half in the top of the third, getting a leadoff double by Ethan Nelson who later scored on a single to left by Josh Kinnee. In the fifth, Alberta took advantage of an error to put a runner on base before Kent Jackson hit an RBI single to tie the game, followed by a double by Kinnee and a single by Aaron Charchuk to take a 4-2 lead. Quebec fought back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth when Leclerc drew a four-pitch walk followed by a single by Vincent Gaudet before Edouard Asselin delivered a two-run single to center. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Alex Baillargeon led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Mika Houle, who advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt by the catcher and came around to score on a single to center by Leclerc for the walk-off win. Baillargeon earned the win in the circle in relief of Leclerc, while Tobie Opikokew took the loss.
 
Saskatchewan 10 vs. Manitoba 2
 
With both teams coming off opening game wins, Saskatchewan opened the scoring in the top of the first by putting a runner on base on an error before Troy Kosmynka lined a run-scoring double to center. Manitoba put two runners on in the bottom of the inning, but a double play and a fly out kept them off the board. In the second, Saskatchewan loaded the bases with two walks and a single by Scott Yellowlees before Will Major hit his second grand slam of the day to center to make the score 5-0. After scoreless third and fourth innings, Saskatchewan got three consecutive singles to start the top of the fifth to bring one run in to score, with a sacrifice fly adding another run. Manitoba got on the board in the bottom of the inning, getting a leadoff single by Braydon Whiskey who later scored on a single by Logan Tanner to extend the game. Will Major hit another homerun – his fourth of the day – with one out in the top of the sixth, but Manitoba showed resilience once again with a no-doubt homerun by Troy Kemball in the bottom of the inning to push the game to the seventh inning. Ethan Sommerfeldt hit a two-run homerun in the top of the seventh to complete the scoring. Troy Kosmynka got the pitching win for Saskatchewan.
 
Nova Scotia 14 vs. New Brunswick 2
 
Nova Scotia improved their record to 2-0 with another offensive outburst against New Brunswick. Nova Scotia wasted no time getting on the board, drawing a pair of walks before Brayden Woodworth smashed a three-run homerun. The following inning, Team NS loaded the bases on a single by Keegan Crowell, a double by Nathan Peters and a walk before Nick White hit a grand slam to right, with Woodworth and Callum Bouma later hitting back-to-back solo shots to build a 9-0 lead. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases again in the third for Nova Scotia with Brody Fraser lining a base clearing triple to center, and he crossed the plate on a single by Woodworth immediately after. New Brunswick broke the shutout in the bottom of the third, getting singles from Jamie Sowers, Jayden Dee and Alex Gauvin to plate a run. After Nova Scotia added a run in the fourth, New Brunswick scored one in the bottom of the inning, but the game ended after four on the run rule. Brody Fraser struck out ten in the pitching circle for Nova Scotia.
 
British Columbia 3 vs. Newfoundland & Labrador 2
 
Team BC picked up their first win by holding on for a tight win over Newfoundland & Labrador. British Columbia opened the scoring with a two-run homerun to left by Richard French in the top of the third. Newfoundland responded in the bottom of the inning when Matthew King walked, moved up to second by tagging up on a pop out and to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a ground out. The score remained 2-1 until BC added an insurance run in the top of the sixth, with Ethan Lans starting the inning with a single and advancing to second on an error and pinch runner Carden Alec crossed the plate on a single by Derian Potskin. Newfoundland made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh when John Webber led off with a single and later scored on a single by Liam Shea, but the next batter ripped a line drive into pitcher Nate Thiessen’s glove who fired the ball to first for a game-ending double play. Thiessen earned the complete game win, allowing only one earned run on seven hits with eight strikeouts. Mitchel Whelan was charged with the loss.
 
Ontario 8 vs. Quebec 1
 
Ontario jumped out to a quick lead when Owen Torrie, Connor Brooks, Thomas Baker and Mac Mulvey all singled to bring two runs in to score, with a third run crossing the plate on a fielder’s choice in the top half of the first. Mason McKay led off the next inning with a double and later scored on a ground out, then Quebec got one run back when Felix Isabelle walked and scored on a triple by Samy Pare. In the fourth, Ontario put two runners on with a hit by pitch and a walk before Baker, Tucker Firth and Austin Eadie each hit RBI singles to make the score 7-1. Owen Torrie hit a solo homerun in the top of the fifth and the game ended on the run rule after Quebec could not score in the bottom of the fifth. Mulvey picked up the pitching win with Alex Baillargeon taking the loss.   
 
All nine teams will be back in action with doubleheaders on Wednesday. Streaming for all games is available at www.niagara2022games.ca/watch/sport/softball.