The round robin portion of the Men’s Softball competition at the 2022 Canada Summer Games continued Wednesday with a number of close games as teams are jockeying for position in the standings.
 
Newfoundland & Labrador 9 vs. New Brunswick 4
 
Both teams put runners on base over the first two innings before Newfoundland opened the scoring in the top of the third when Adrian Green hit a run-scoring single followed by a two-tun homerun to center by Marcus Pittman. The following inning, Jacob Gill led off with a triple and scored on an error, with Liam Shea later hitting another triple to make the score 5-0. Newfoundland increased its lead to 7-0 in the top of the fifth after Pittman singled, Logan Power walked, and Gill hit a two-run single to center. Looking to extend the game, New Brunswick put two runners on base on a single by Evan Despres and a walk before Alex Melanson singled to center to score Despres, and Simon Melanson later laced a triple to right as New Brunswick got back into the game at 7-3. Newfoundland and Labrador added two runs in the sixth on an error and a bases loaded walk, with New Brunswick getting another run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning but they were unable to get much going in the seventh, ending the game.
 
Saskatchewan 10 vs. Alberta 0
 
Saskatchewan kept their hot bats going in this one, getting a two-run single by Kobey Clarke in the bottom of the first before adding two runs on an error and a wild pitch for an early 4-0 lead. Ryan Bicknell led off the bottom of the second with a single before Will Major hit a two-run homerun to left, with Clarke adding a solo shot of his own to start the bottom of the third. Max Major hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth with Oakley Durham later hitting a two-run double to end the game on the run rule after four innings. Troy Kosmynka earned the win in the pitcher’s circle, allowing only one hit and striking out seven batters in three innings. Riggs Ringdahl registered Alberta’s only hit with a single to lead off the second.
 
Ontario 9 vs. British Columbia 2
 
Ontario improved its record to 3-0 with a win over British Columbia. Neither team was able to score over the first two innings before Team BC jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a two-run homerun to center by Derian Potskin in the top of the third. Ontario responded immediately in the bottom of the frame, getting a leadoff walk with the runner stealing second and advancing to third on an error before scoring on a single by Mitch McKay followed by a triple to right by Connor Brooks to tie the game. Thomas Baker followed with a run-scoring single, with Tucker Firth later adding a two-run homerun to right for the 5-2 lead. Owen Torrie led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and scored on a two-run blast by Mitch McKay, who later delivered a two-run double in the fifth to end the game on the run rule. Torrie registered the win in the pitcher’s circle with 10 strikeouts in four innings of work.
 
Quebec 7 vs. Manitoba 6
 
In a key matchup with both team sitting at 1-1, Manitoba got the game’s first run in the top of the second when Troy Kemball reached on an error and later scored on a passed ball. Quebec produced a run of their own in the bottom of the frame, getting a leadoff walk by Nathan Caron who advanced to second on a ground out, to third on a passed ball and scoring after beating a throw at the plate on a fielder’s choice. Quebec then struck with five runs all scored with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Samy Pare drew a walk and scored on a double by Felix Isabelle, who crossed the pate on an error. A double by Tristan Breton put runners on second and third before Edouard Asselin hit a two-run single to center. Caron later singled to score Asselin to make the score 6-1 for Quebec. Manitoba went to work in the top of the sixth, as Logan Tanner led off with a double followed by two singles by Trey Cote and Theorn North to plate one run before Kemball drilled a two-run double to right. Dreydin Robinson later hit an RBI single to score Kemball and cut the lead to 6-5. Down to their last out, Manitoba got a pair of two-out singles by Cote and North before Kemball smashed another double to center to tie the game. Quebec put their leadoff batter on base with an error followed by a single to put runners on the corners, but a fielder’s choice retired a runner at the plate followed by a strikeout and a hard ground ball that was caught at third and thrown to first to send the game to an extra inning. After Manitoba was unable to score in the top of the eighth, Caron singled to center to end the game.
 
Nova Scotia 3 vs. Newfoundland & Labrador 1
 
Nova Scotia opened the scoring in the top half of the first when Brody Fraser hit a two-out single to right and scored on a double to left by Brayden Woodworth. Newfoundland & Labrador tied the game with a homerun by Logan Power in the bottom of the second, and the pitching took over from there as it took until the top of the seventh for Nova Scotia to pull ahead with back-to-back homeruns by Nick White and Cameron Patton. Newfoundland got a leadoff single by Ryan Maher to start the bottom of the inning, but was unable to move the runner ahead. David Watson fired a gem for Nova Scotia, allowing only one run on three hits with 12 strikeouts in seven innings for the win. Mitchel Whelan was also strong for Newfoundland & Labrador, allowing one run on five hits and six strikeouts in six innings and a third. Marcus Pittman took the loss in relief.
 
Alberta 4 vs. New Brunswick 2
 
Alberta got on the board first in the bottom of the first, as the leadoff batter was hit by a pitch later followed by a single by Josh Kinnee before Aaron Charchuk hit a sacrifice fly to center, with James Glennie later adding a run-scoring single to left. New Brunswick got one run back in the top of the third when Hunter Anderson led off with a single, was sacrificed to second and scored on a double to right by Jamie Estey. In the bottom of the fourth, Alberta put two runners on base on singles by Glennie and Ethan Nelson before scoring on an error on a double steal and adding another run on an error by the pitcher for the 4-1 lead. New Brunswick added a run in the sixth but could not get any closer with Alberta’s Owen Cox earning the pitching win.
 
Saskatchewan 4 vs. Quebec 3
 
In another great matchup, both teams were scoreless after three innings before Samy Pare hit a one-out double for Quebec and scored on an error by the shortstop. Saskatchewan got that run back immediately in the bottom of the inning when Will and Max Major each singled and Will scored on the throw to second on a double steal. Xavier Daneau gave Quebec the lead with a homerun to left in the top of the fifth, but Max Major hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth to make it 3-2 for Saskatchewan. Down to their final at-bat, Quebec was able to score the tying run in the top of the seventh on a leadoff homerun by Vincent Gaudet. However, Saskatchewan got a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning and sacrificed the runner to second before Ryan Bicknell delivered a walk-off single to center to end the game.
 
British Columbia 7 vs. Manitoba 0
 
British Columbia bounced back from their loss with a tidy win over Manitoba. Team BC got on the board in the top of the second when Derian Potskin singled and Nathaniel Simicic walked, with Potskin scoring on a wild pitch and Simicic crossing the plate on an error. The following inning, BC loaded the bases with no outs on a hit by pitch and singles by Raynen Campbell and Richard French before a walk forced a run home followed by a grand slam by Potskin to make the score 7-0. Nate Thiessen cruised from there, earned the five-inning shutout allowing only two hits and striking out 11.
 
Nova Scotia 5 vs. Ontario 3
 
Day 2 ended with a battle between two undefeated teams. Ontario struck first in the top of the first inning when Mitch McKay and Connor Brooks each singled and scored on a two-run single by Thomas Baker. Nova Scotia got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning as Cameron Patton doubled and scored on a single by Brody Fraser. Ontario added a run to its lead in the top of the fourth when Brendan Hagerman led off with a single and later scored on a double to right off the bat of Mitch McKay to make it 3-1. However, Nova Scotia put their first two batters on base in the bottom of the inning before Nathan Peters hit a three-run shot to center to put Nova Scotia on top. Fraser added an RBI double later in the inning, and David Watson shut Ontario down over the final three innings striking out seven batters for the save. Fraser picked up the win, while Connor Brooks took the loss.
 
All nine teams will be back in action with doubleheaders on Day 3 Thursday. Streaming for all games is available at www.niagara2022games.ca/watch/sport/softball.