Sincelejo, Colombia – The U18 Canadian Men’s National Team bounced back with a massive 10-1 win over Peru (1-3) in five innings at the 2023 WBSC Americas Pan American Championships on Wednesday.

Cohen Christner (New Hamburg, Ont.) got his second start in the pitcher’s circle for Canada and looked steady for the red and white from the get-go, striking out four hitters through two innings to keep the game scoreless.

Nolan Bultena (Arthur, Ont.) got Canada’s bats going in the bottom of the second inning when he hit a double on a line drive to right field, and then advanced to third on a fielding error.  Daniel Scott (Stratford, Ont.) hit a triple on a fly ball to right field, scoring Bultena to make it 1-0 with one out. Alex McGillivray (Durham, Ont.) got on base off a walk to have runners on first and third. Riley Good (Wingham, Ont.) hit a nice single on a line drive to right field, scoring Scott to increase the lead to two. McGillivray turned on the jets and made it 3-0 on a steal of home. Good joined in on the scoring off a Justin Roth (Tavistock, Ont.) ground out to finish the inning 4-0.

In the top of the third, Peru got a lead off walk, followed by a single to right field to get things going. The momentum kept coming for Peru when they advanced to third off a sacrifice and then made it 4-1 off a ground out.

Camden Weatherbee (Brookfield, N.S.) kicked off the bottom of the frame with a single on a line drive to right field, and then advanced to second off an error.  Christner then singled on a ground ball to left field, scoring Weatherbee to increase the lead to 5-1, resulting in a pitching change for Peru. The Canadians continued the momentum when Bultena advanced on a walk and Blake Brubacher (Newton, Ont.), pinch running for Christner, advanced to second on a passed ball. Bultena and Brubacher then both advanced on a passed ball. Canada loaded the bases when Adrian Green (Carbonear, N.L.) advanced on a walk. Scott then stepped up to the plate and hit a single to right field, scoring Bultena and Brubacher, making it 7-1, with no outs. McGillivray hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Green, 8-1. The runs kept coming when Good singled on a line drive to right field, scoring Scott, to end an eventful inning for Canada.

After a busy inning on offence, Canada made a defensive change in the top of the fourth. Nic Neid (Terrace, B.C.) came in for Christner, who had a solid appearance in the circle, only giving up one run on two hits, with five strikeouts in three innings of work. Neid set the tone early with two strikeouts to keep the score 9-1.

The Canadian bats didn’t let up in the bottom of the fourth when Weatherbee stepped up and hit a single to centre field. Brad Barker (Goodwood, Ont.) grounded into a fielder’s choice, with Weatherbee advancing to second. Green then singled on a line drive to left field, advancing Barker. Scott singled on a hard ground ball to left, scoring Barker, making it 10-1 to end the inning.

Neid would close out the final inning with two strikeouts to secure the win for Canada. He would finish the game with no hits, no runs and four strikeouts in two innings pitched.

Team Canada (2-1) will look to continue their momentum when they face Argentina (2-1) on Thursday at 2:00pm COT (3:00pm EDT). All games will be live streamed here.