The 2023 Baseball Canada Cup came to an end on Monday. Over the past few days, the best baseball players 17 & under gathered in Regina to battle for provincial pride.
In the Bronze medal game, Saskatchewan defeated Quebec in a thrilling 1-0 game. Saskatoon’s Boston Bast hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 7th inning to claim the medal for Team Saskatchewan.
Bast found the pitch he was looking for in that crucial at-bat.
“I was just sell-out fastball, I was taking slider, I was looking for something straight, something I could drive, to get the guy in. ”
Reese Brons earned the win on the mound for Saskatchewan pitching a complete game shutout going seven innings, recording ten strikeouts and only allowing one hit against Quebec.
The Saskatoon product said he had to dig deep on Monday to pick up the big win.
“I think a little bit of Tiger Balm and Tylenol helped a little bit, who knows really to be honest.”
Brons added, “I kind of pushed through and found something extra momentum and adrenaline in my body.”
Quebec’s Jeremy Dionne took the loss despite pitching a complete game of his own, allowing one run on ten hits and a pair of strikeouts.
In the Gold Medal game, Ontario defeated British Columbia 11-8. B.C. jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Ontario would climb back. Down by a run in the bottom of the sixth, Ontario’s Ryan Stalony would hit a triple that scored the game-tying run. That would be followed up Ontario’s Brayden Ricketts hitting another triple, his second of the game, that scored Staloney, securing the Gold Medal for Team Ontario.
Ricketts would end his night with three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored and was named the game’s M.V.P.
Saskatchewan’s Carter Beck was named the top hitter. He ended the tournament with a .444 batting average and an .818 slugging pct.
Ontario’s Josiah Romeo was named the tournament’s top defensive player. He earned a pair of wins at the 2023 Baseball Canada Cup, including a complete game victory over Quebec during the semi-finals.