13U nationals
The St. Albert Cardinals split two games on day one of the 13U Baseball Canada championship at Repentigny, Que.
Thursday’s pool B scores for Team Alberta were the 8-2 loss to Ontario 2 and 7-6 walkoff win in an extra inning against Prince Edward Island.
Friday’s score against Quebec was unavailable at press time.
The last game for the Baseball Alberta 13U AAA Tier I champions before the crossover playoffs is against British Columbia today.
Visit u13.baseball.ca for results.
The tournament opener for the Cardinals was decided in the top of the fifth as Ontario pushed five runs across to make it 7-1.
Ontario out-hit the Cardinals 10-5 and racked up six stolen bases.
Starting pitcher Connor Suba of Calgary struck-out six and walked one while allowing two runs over three innings.
Connor MacLeod, Brodie Bazillion of Calgary and Blake Borduzak also pitched in relief.
Nicholas Vandenberg stroked a double while Eric Hartman and Thomas Rankin each drove in a run.
Bazillion’s run-scoring single in the eighth inning against P.E.I. was also his second hit of the game and the team’s ninth.
The Cardinals trailed 4-3 before counting one in six and in seven both teams took turns scoring two runs a piece.
Michael Yusypchuk drew the start and during 3-2/3 innings of five-hit ball allowed four runs (two earned), including a homer, while fanning five and walking one.
Dylan Martins, Silas Schalk and Vandenberg also took turns on the mound as P.E.I. collected eights hits in total.
Hartman cracked a solo home run in the first while going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scored two runs, as did Vandenberg.
Yusypchuk also drove home two runs with a double.
The Cardinals committed three errors and left seven men on base compared to five runners for P.E.I.
The Cardinals are the first 13U team from the St. Albert Minor Baseball Association to compete at nationals since the 2014 fourth-place finishers.
Prior to nationals, the team’s record was 32-5 after going 26-8 last year as silver medallists at westerns as provincial finalists.
Herman motors
The fastest 10-year-old in St. Albert finished third overall in the U19 male division at the Edmonton half-marathon Sunday.
Easton Herman’s time was one hour, 35 minutes and 44 seconds for 139th place overall as the 110th male finisher in the 21.1-kilometre event.
The U19 winner was Eric Thompson at 1:22:56 for 34th place overall and the top male was Evan Esselink at 1:05:07.
Herman ran five halves this summer for practise and his personal best before the race was 1:54.
Western Games
Team Alberta’s medal haul at the Western Canada Summer Games includes the following podium results for athletes with St. Albert sports connections:
Jeremie Bennett, 18, canoe/kayak, male: gold – K-1 200 metres; silver – K-1 500m, K-1 1,000m, K-2 200m, K-2 500m, K-2 1,000m, K-2 5,000m.
Jason Watamaniuk, 18, canoe/kayak, male: gold – war canoe mixed; bronze – K-1 200m, K-2 200m, K-2 5,000m.
Catharina Kluyts, 20, athletics, female: gold – 400m hurdles, 4x100m relay.
Isabelle Poulin, 16, triathlon 2x relay team, female: gold, with Mairen Lawson, 15, Sophia Howell, 16, Sara Bourque, 17.
Gianna Oboniye, 13, tennis, female: gold – doubles with Aurora Pedwell, 14.
Basketball, Team Alberta female: gold – Maty Drefs, 16, Dakota Wedman, 16.
Soccer, Team Alberta female: gold – Grace Hannaford, 15.
Soccer, Team Alberta male: gold – Ali Blaybel, 15, Emmanuel Kanu, 14, Dieu-Merci Michel, 15, Felix Mutuyemungu, 15, Armaan Natt, 14, Malik Sylvester, 14, Ali Yildiz, 15.
Golf, Team Alberta female: gold – Brooke Brezovski, 16, with Jenna Bruggeman, 16, Kaitlyn Wingnean, 16, Grace Bell, 16, Brooke Frerichs, 14.
Brezovski, golf, female individual event: silver, three-day 54-hole total of 229 (77-78-74).
Skyler York, 18, athletics, female: silver – 3,000m.
Evan Chaisson, 15, canoe/kayak, male: bronze – K-2 200m, K-2 5,000m, K-4 1,000m.
Aidan Stock, 17, canoe/kayak, male: bronze – K-4 1,000m.
Harris Swaleh, 17, canoe/kayak, male: bronze – K-4 1,000m.
The Games ended last weekend in Swift Current with Alberta on top of the medal standings with 299 – 129 gold, 92 silver and 78 bronze.
Overall, 340 athletes represented 57 Alberta communities at the multi-sport competition for developing athletes.
Alberta was joined by Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut at the Games, which are held every four years.
Saskatchewan placed second in the medal count with 213 – 56 gold, 79 silver, 78 bronze and Manitoba was third at 171 – 49 gold, 60 silver, 62 bronze.
