The preliminary round of the Men’s Softball competition at the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games ended on Friday after an hour and half rain delay in the early afternoon.
 
Saskatchewan 5 vs. British Columbia 4
 
The day started with a great matchup between two team sitting at 4-2 and fighting for the third spot in the standings. After three scoreless innings, Team BC opened the scoring with a solo homerun by Brett Alexander in the top of the fourth. Saskatchewan responded in the bottom of the frame, getting a leadoff double by Brant Wiebe followed by a walk before Oakley Durham singled past the pitcher to bring in a run and a second run scoring on an error on the play. Saskatchewan added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth on a run-scoring single by Wiebe, but BC got one run back in the sixth when Dorian Billy singled and later scored on a single to left by Ethan Lans to make the score 3-2. In the top of the seventh, BC got a leadoff walk and a single by Alexander before Billy singled in the tying run. After Saskatchewan was unable to score in the bottom of the inning, the game went into the eight with BC managing to score a run on a single to left by Cordell Fauht. However, Saskatchewan got an RBI single by Will Major and a second runner scored on an error on the play to end the game. Troy Preymack earned the win in the pitcher’s circle striking out 16 batters.
 
Nova Scotia 9 vs. Manitoba 0
 
Nova Scotia did not waste any time getting on the scoreboard, getting a leadoff walk and a single by Cameron Patton before Brody Fraser drilled a double to center followed by a single to left by Brayden Woodworth to bring two runs in to score. A third run scored on an error, with Keegan Crowell later adding a run-scoring single to build a 4-0 lead. Nova Scotia added two its lead in the third putting a runner on base with an error before Crowell hit an RBI single. Another error and a single put two runners on base for Nova Scotia in the fourth, with Fraser, Callum Bouma and Alec MacDonald each contributing run-scoring singles. Nova Scotia added their ninth run on a wild pitch. Brody Fraser fired a five-inning one-hitter, striking out ten batters. Ethan Harclow singled for Manitoba in the first.  
 
Ontario 12 vs. Alberta 2
 
Ontario opened the scoring in the top of the first when the leadoff batter reached on an error and later scored on a wild pitch. Alberta tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a run-scoring single by Brenan Rosychuk, with Ontario scoring twice in the third. Connor Brooks drove in a run with a single past the shortstop, with another run scoring on a single by Curtis Ruetz later in the inning for a 3-1 lead. Alberta made the score 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth when Josh Kinnee led off with a single and scored on a single to center by Tobie Opikokew. In the top of the fifth, Ontario loaded the bases with a hit by pitch and two errors before scoring a run on a fielder’s choice, two others on a triple to center by James Martell and one more on a single by Torri to make it 7-2. Connor Brooks added a three-run homerun to center in the sixth, with Martell and Austin Eadie each adding RBI singles later in the inning. Brooks registered the win for Ontario in the pitcher’s circle, allowing two runs on three hits with 12 strikeouts in six innings.
 
Quebec 7 vs. New Brunswick 4
 
Quebec started their day with a run-scoring triple by Sharl Leclerc who came in to score on a single by Nathan Caron to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. In the third, Felix Isabelle lined a triple to center and scored on a single by Caron before New Brunswick got one run back when Shawn Brewer singled and later scored on a single by Alex Melanson. Quebec put two runners on bases with a hit by pitch and a walk before Leclerc hit a run-scoring single. Julien Cormier hit a homerun to left to in the bottom of the fourth, later followed by a two-run single by Hunter Anderson to tie the game 4-4. Edouard Asselin led off the top of the sixth with a double and scored on a single by Isabelle before Caron drilled a two-run shot to left. Leclerc earned the win in the pitcher’s circle, scattering eight hits and striking out six batters.
 
Newfoundland & Labrador 3 vs. Saskatchewan 2
 
Newfoundland & Labrador continued their climb up the standings after a tough start to the tournament with an important win over Saskatchewan. Team NL opened the scoring with a run crossing the plate on an error in the top of the first, then added another in the second when John Webber singled and later scored on a single to center by Liam Shea. Saskatchewan loaded the bases with three walks in the bottom of the inning and scored two runs on an error by the shortstop to tie the game. The score remained the same until the top of the sixth when Adrian Green broke the tie with a homerun to right. Saskatchewan could not get anything going in the sixth or seventh innings as they dropped the game. Mitchel Whelan earned the complete game win for Newfoundland, allowing two unearned runs on four hits with five strikeouts with Brayden Harris saddled with the loss.
 
Nova Scotia 13 vs. Alberta 2
 
Nova Scotia got on the board immediately in the top of the first when Nick White led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch, with a second run scoring on a wild pitch later in the inning. Alberta cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second, with James Glennie leading off with a single and later scoring on a single by Gage Wolfe. Nova Scotia loaded the bases on singles by Cameron Patton and Nathan Peters and a walk before another walk forced a run home, then Alberta made it 3-2 after three singles by Kent Jackson, Dantin Winnipeg and Wolfe. Nova Scotia then exploded for ten runs in the top of the fifth. Peters led off with a double and scored on a single by Brayden Woodworth, Caleb Isenor added an RBI single, another run scored on a ground out followed by another on a double by Tyler Payne to make it 7-2. Patton and Evan Tilley each added run-scoring singles with Peters and Woodworth each hitting an RBI double to complete the scoring. Patton earned the win in the circle forNova Scotia, scattering seven hits and striking out nine batters.  
 
Quebec 13 vs. British Columbia 3
 
Team BC opened the scoring in the top of the first when Raynen Campbell led off with a single and scored on a single by Ethan Lans, then added another run in the second after a leadoff walk followed by a triple to left by Brett Alexander. Quebec responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame, getting three consecutive singles by Zachary Dutil, Mika Houle and Vincent Gaudet to score a run before Tristan Breton smashed a triple to center to score two more. Breton crossed the plate on a passed ball to make the score 4-2 for Quebec. Xavier Daneau hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the third, then Quebec got a triple by Houle, an RBI single by Gaudet, a double by Breton and added two runs on a wild pitch and a ground out for the 8-3 lead. Later in the inning, Nathan Caron added a three-run homerun and Quebec scored another run on an error for the run rule win.
 
Newfoundland & Labrador 11 vs. Manitoba 0
 
Coming off an emotional win over Saskatchewan, Newfoundland & Labrador crossed over to the other field needing a win to secure the third spot in the standings. Liam Shea got things going with a double to start the game and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Maher, then Newfoundland got a leadoff walk in the second with the runner scoring on a ground out. Jacob Gill followed with a triple to left and scored on a single by Matthew King to increase the lead to 3-0. The score remained that way until the top of the fifth when Newfoundland put the game out of reach with eight runs. Adrian Green, Jacob Gill and Logan Power each hit run-scoring singles, John Webber added a two-run triple, and Shea had a two-run double. Marcus Pittman fired a five inning one-hitter, striking out eleven batters.
 
Ontario 12 vs. New Brunswick 1
 
Owen Torrie led off the game with a homerun to left, and Ontario drew two walks followed by a single by Thomas Baker to take a 2-0 lead right out of the gate. The following inning, Torrie singled and scored on a single by Mitch McKay, then in the third Ontario added a run on an RBI single by James Martell, one on a wild pitch and another on a sacrifice fly to take a 6-0 lead. Mac Mulvey hit a run-scoring single in the fourth with Ontario adding two more on errors, then in the fifth Ontario scored a run on a fielder’s choice and two others on singles by Tucker Firth and Robbie Barker to increase their big lead. Jayden Thibodeau drove in New Brunswick’s run with a single in the bottom of the fifth. Kurt McCann was the winning pitcher for Ontario.
 
The playoff round will begin on Friday with first-place Nova Scotia facing second-place Ontario at 11:00am with the winner of that game advancing to Sunday’s gold medal game. Third-place Newfoundland & Labrador will square off with fourth-place Saskatchewan at 1:30pm with the winner of that game advancing to play the loser of the Nova Scotia/Ontario game at 6:00pm.
 
The placement games will be between Alberta and Manitoba for seventh place at 10:00am followed by the fifth place game between British Columbia and Quebec at 3:00pm. Streaming for all games is available at www.niagara2022games.ca/watch/sport/softball.