CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A collection of Island teenagers joined a select group of baseball players Sunday in Oshawa, Ont.
Prince Edward Island’s 15-and-under team defeated Manitoba 6-4 at the Ray Carter Cup to win bronze at the Canadian championship. It is only the third time P.E.I. has won a medal at a national baseball tournament.
“They were a great group. I would go through the wall for any one of them,” head coach Rob McCormack said Monday morning. “They made some friendships for a lifetime (that’s) for sure, especially with that medal around their neck.”
P.E.I. scored three times in the top of the third to break a 1-1 tie after both squads scored in the first inning. Each team scored twice in the fifth inning while Manitoba added one in the sixth and was threatening for more in the seventh. Trailing by two, Manitoba had runners on second and third with two outs when Christopher MacDougall got Callan Grieve to hit a fly ball to left field that Montague’s Nolan Stewart wasn’t going to let drop in.
“We thought that little blooper was going to tie the game up, but he charged that ball with no nerves whatsoever and made a fantastic catch to end the game,” McCormack said.
Colby Huggan allowed three runs, two of them unearned, on four hits in five innings. He struck out two. MacDougall gave up a run on two hits and a walk while striking out one in recording the save.
Cody McCormack was 2-for-3 with two singles and three RBI for the Island while Jacob Dunn was 2-for-4 with a single, a double and an RBI. Luke Coughlin had a single, an RBI and scored twice, Huggan had a single, walked twice and scored a pair of runs and Owen Lynch singled and scored.
McCormack, a Richmond resident who grew up in the community of Sherwood, was named head coach of the program in October. They held identification camps in November and December and worked with the squad over the winter.
He said there was a handful of other Islanders capable of playing at nationals, showing the depth of strong ballplayers the Island has built.
“We knew we were going to be able to compete right from the get-go,” he said.
The team went 6-4 playing in Prince Edward Island’s 18-and-under league and did well against their Maritime counterparts.
“They kind of had the recipe for success,” Baseball P.E.I. executive director Randy Byrne said. “They had really strong pitching . . . they were very tight defensively and they had some sticky bats.”
New Glasgow’s Brandon Langley was named the tournament’s top pitcher after going 1-0 in two games. He allowed an unearned run on three infield singles and two walks while striking out 12 in 9 1/3 innings.
Charlottetown’s Will Morrison hit .722 (13-for-18) for the tournament but missed a couple of games due to injury, resulting in another player being named top hitter.
“I could say something great about each and every one of the kids. They were all fantastic,” McCormack said, noting everybody bought into their role and contributed to the team’s success. “These 15 kids got along unbelievably well.”
People wanting to see the players compete locally can do so by attending the provincials this weekend in Charlottetown where the players will be on their club teams. The age group is the same that will be eligible to play for Team P.E.I. at the 2021 Canada Games in the Niagara region of Ontario.
Related links:
• Four Islanders playing for New Brunswick teams at senior men’s baseball nationals
• A weekend to remember as Islanders help host Chatham Ironmen win Canadian senior title
• Proud day: Baseball P.E.I. pleased hard work by players, coaches is paying off
Need to know
15-and-under baseball
Who – A collection of young baseball players from across the province who represent P.E.I. at the nationals in Oshawa, Ont., and won the bronze-medal game on Sunday.
Outcomes – P.E.I. went 4-1 in preliminary-round play and 2-1 in the playoffs.
Thursday
Manitoba 6 P.E.I. 5 (9 innings)
P.E.I. 6 Newfoundland and Labrador 2
Friday
P.E.I. 10 Nova Scotia 4
P.E.I. 10 Alberta 9
Saturday
P.E.I. 10 New Brunswick 0
Quarter-final
P.E.I. 7 Oshawa 1
Sunday
Semifinal
British Columbia 3 P.E.I. 2
Bronze-medal game
P.E.I. 6 Manitoba 4
Head coach Rob McCormack said: “I think we surprised a lot of (people) this weekend.”
History – It is only the third time P.E.I. has won a medal at baseball nationals. Prince Edward Island won silver at the 1977 senior men’s competition and bronze at the 2015 bantam event.
Celebrate – McCormack said they had a tame celebration on Sunday. “Most of us are going to Canada’s Wonderland here this morning,” he said Monday. The squad was scheduled to fly out of Ontario Monday night and arrive in Charlottetown Tuesday just after midnight.
