TORONTO -- Tournament 12 was back in action on Saturday at Rogers Centre in Toronto as the top young Canadian amateur baseball players showcased their talent for college and professional scouts.
After a scouting day on Friday, Saturday featured a slate of six games, with eight teams taking the field. After the final two games of the preliminary round are played Sunday morning, the top two teams from each pool will play in the semifinals for a spot in the championship game at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Saturday Results
• Quebec Blue opened the day with a 4-1 win over Atlantic Maroon. The Atlantic batters were held to just two hits from New Brunswick's Ryan Scott and Max Grant. Nova Scotian left-hander Jaden Griffin walked six over his five innings of work, but struck out nine Quebec batters and allowed just one hit. Antony Gilbert went 1-for-1 with three walks for Quebec, and Viktor Bergeron picked up the win, throwing four innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts.
• Futures Navy walked off Prairies Purple, 2-1, when Jaden Brown raced home from third on a passed ball. Brown went 2-for-3 with a triple for Futures. Stephen Kinal, Evan Elliot and Caden Griffin combined to hold the Prairies to one run on five hits. Prairies right-hander Connor Sparks was excellent with 12 strikeouts over five innings of one-run ball.
• Ontario Green rode a six-run fifth inning to a 10-8 win over B.C Orange in the third game. Blake Buckle launched a home run over the right-field wall at Rogers Centre and Ben Mitchell went 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs for the Green. Damiano Palmegiani had two hits and an RBI for B.C..
• Ontario Black stormed back in the bottom of the seventh with three runs to earn a 4-4 tie against Quebec Blue. Leo Markotic had the big hit of the inning, singling home Noah Naylor and Ryan Magdik to draw Ontario even. Alexis Rioux and Griffin Hassall looked sharp in their starts, striking out seven hitters apiece.
• Ontario Green moved to 3-1 with a 9-1 win over Futures Navy in each team's second game. Thomas Murphy and Erik Tyler combined to throw a seven-inning no-hitter for Ontario, with 11 strikeouts. Ontario also had an even offensive performance with each of their top six hitters recording a hit. Tyler Shofield-Sam and Angel Velez-Diaz walked twice for Futures Navy.
• Ontario Black finished its day with another 4-4 tie, this one against Alberta Red. LaRon Smith went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI for Alberta and Cesar Valero walked three times in four plate appearances. A two-run triple from Matt Jenkins in the top of the sixth put Ontario ahead before Alberta fought back for the tie in the bottom of the seventh.