Mustangs finish strong
P.E.I. representative finishes fifth
It was a strong finish for the Mid-Isle Mustangs.
After losing their first three games to perennial powerhouses Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, the P.E.I. representative at the Baseball Canada national 15-under championship completed play with back-to-back wins for an overall record of 2-3 (won-lost).
“It was a lot of fun and the boys learned a lot,” said Mustangs head coach Steven Noonan. “Most of the guys have never been to a tournament of this calibre before. . .
“We learned a lot, and it’s tough for anyone to run with a couple of those central Canada teams. They are choosing from thousands of players where we are lucky to have a couple of dozen come out.”
Fifth place
Mid-Isle, comprised of players from the Kensington, Bedeque and Cornwall associations, played two round-robin games Saturday – losing 6-1 to British Columbia and defeating New Brunswick 6-4 – before outscoring Newfoundland and Labrador 11-7 in the fifth-place game on Sunday afternoon. “If we were to do this tournament over again, with the guys having a little experience and the jitters out, I think we would be a different team,” said Noonan. “I’m proud of the boys, we finished in the top half.”
Mustangs 11 Newfoundland and Labrador 7
At Legends Field, the Mustangs scored seven runs on one hit and five Newfoundland and Labrador errors in the second inning to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 7-3 lead. Tobias Hood drove in two runs for the Mustangs while Nic Havenga earned the pitching win. Dylan Cameron, Dylan Noonan and Nathan Mahar also had RBIs. Mustangs 6 New Brunswick 4 At VIV Field, the Mustangs scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning to rally from a three-run deficit after New Brunswick scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to open up a short-lived 4-1 lead. Winning pitcher Jordan Spence and Josh Dow each drove in two runs for Mid-Isle.
British Columbia 6 Mustangs 1
At Legends Field, British Columbia accounted for all its scoring with back-to-back three-run innings in the second and third frames. Havenga went 2-for-3 to lead Mid-Isle’s offence while Landon Clow, Max Benton and Matt Jabbour contributed hits. Cameron was the Mustangs’ pitcher of record.