Hitmen roar out of gate
Defending champs from Newfoundland post lopsided wins on opening day; Bulldogs also 2-0
Newfoundland’s Galway Hitmen lived up to both their reputation as the defending champions and their nickname as they registered two decisive wins Wednesday, the opening day of the Canadian senior men’s fastpitch championship in St. John’s.
In both cases, the Hitmen made short work of the competition, defeating the Bridge City Sharks of Saskatoon 13-0 and the Alvinston, Ont., Indians 14-0 in games that lasted only fiveinnings because of implementation of the mercy rule.
When you score 27 runs in two games, it’s a certainty there have been a lot players contributing to the offence, but on Wednesday at the Caribou Complex in Pleasantville, it was Brad Ezekiel leading the way for the Hitmen. Ezekiel was six-for-six in the two games, scoring five runs and driving in four more. Three of his six hits were home runs. He also had a stolen base for good measure.
Robbie Greene pitched the abbreviated shutout against the Sharks and Sean Cleary did the same versus the Indians.
The Hitmen — who are actually looking for a fifth straight national title — are one of three entries from Newfoundland in the 10-team tourney, the others being the Kelly’s Pub Bulldogs, who also won twice on Wednesday, and the WMC/The Bigs Bombers.
Playing in the tournament’s very first contest, the Bulldogs downed the Bulyea Rustlers of Saskatchewan 10-2, with pick-up Kyle Linton pitching the win and Stephen Jesso hitting a two-run home run. The Bulldogs’ second game saw them defeat another Saskatoon entry, the Poly Plus Angels, by a 6-1 score, with Colin Walsh pitching the win.
The Bombers, meanwhile, dropped two decisions. Their first loss came via the mercy rule as they fell 7-0 in five innings to the Rustlers, but their second was much closer as they were edged 2-1 by Chetty’s Pretty Boys, a fourth Saskatchewan team.
The three Newfoundland entries each have two games again today. The Hitmen take on the Rustlers (11:30 a.m.) and Pretty Boys (6 p.m.), the Bulldogs face the Pretty Boys (9:30 a.m.) and Sharks (2:30 p.m.) and the Bombers will look for their first win as they take to the field against the Kitchener, Ont., Hallman Cubs (12:30 p.m.) and Indians (4 p.m.).