Mastodons knock Hitmen from fast-pitch throne
Host Saskatoon Angels place fourth; AGI Masters take master men’s crown
The streak is over.
Step aside Galway Hitmen from Newfoundland. Make way for the East Hants Shooters Bar & Grill Mastodons from Nova Scotia.
After a record-setting five straight national titles by Newfoundland’s Galway, the Mastodons hoisted the 2017 Softball Canada men’s Canadian fastpitch championship trophy with a hard-fought 6-5 victory over the defending champion Hitmen.
“Unbelievable,” Mastodons winning pitcher Justin Schofield said after the win. “Man, we’ve played that team a lot of times and come close. (Saturday night’s semifinal) was a huge step for us to prove we can — everybody believed that we could — and today we proved that, this week, we were the best.”
The hulking Schofield, who had a perfect record of 3-0 in the playoffs with 20 strikeouts, was named the championship round’s most valuable player.
Jeff Elsworth, Jay Duffy and star Australian import Nick Shailes each smacked home runs for Nova Scotia off Galway pitcher Jason Hill, who gave up six runs on seven hits and no errors.
Schofield allowed nine hits and five runs with no errors.
“It was just a wholehearted, everything-we-needed-to-do-towin-this-thing,” said East Hants head coach Chris Hopewell. “This has been a lifelong dream. I’ve been to 18 of these and I’ve got a bronze and two silvers before this. Now this is my first gold. It was our goal, coming in, to win this whole thing and we’re going to host it next year and hopefully defend it on home soil.”
Nova Scotia will play host to the 2018 Softball Canada men’s Canadian fast-pitch and master men’s fast-pitch championships.
HOST SASKATOON ANGELS PLACE FOURTH
The host Saskatoon Poly Plus Angels fell out of the medals after a strong run through the round robin with a 5-1 record.
The Angels lost 7-3 to the eventual champions from Nova Scotia in their first playoff game, then stayed alive with a 4-3 win over the Grande Prairie Padres on Saturday night before falling 5-3 to the Bulyea Rustlers.
“A couple of our big horses hurt,” noted Angels head coach Gary Burns. “It didn’t help.”
Team Canada national team members Patrick Burns and Devon McCullough were both hurt. McCullough had a tender pitching shoulder and Burns tweaked his hip.
“It’s the way the ball bounces in ball sometimes,” said Gary Burns. “You need the hits and we didn’t get them when we needed them. We figured we were a (Number) 2-3 team and we were left falling a little bit short.”
AGI WINS MASTERS CROWN
In Softball Canada’s master men’s Canadian championship final, the Saskatoon AGI Masters blanked the Saskatoon Padres 10-0.
Dean Holoien struck out eight during three shutout innings in the final for the win.
Holoien, who earlier hit a home run in the semifinal, was named the championship round MVP.
Kevin Knelson of the AGI Masters won the top batter award with a .800 average, going 8-for-10 with four runs and RB1. 2-0 record, 10 K’s and a 1.00 ERA.
Jason Scheider from the Padres was the MVP for the qualifying round, hitting .444 and scoring five runs and stealing five bases. EXTRA INNINGS: Galway’s Shane Boland was named the MVP and top batter for the qualifying round after hitting at a .634 clip, four home runs, eight RBI and eight runs scored through the round robin. B.C’s Sooke Loggers’ Scott Lieph was named the top pitcher with a 1.84 ERA and 34 strikeouts through 18 innings … Tournament all-stars included Devon McCullough and Patrick Burns from the host Saskatoon Poly Plus Angels, Corey Krahenbil and Josh Jordan (Bulyea Rustlers), Mike Lawton (Delisle Diamond Dogs), Mathieu Roy (Galway Hitmen), Nick Shailes, Joel Isenor and Donnely Archibald (East Hant).