Canadian men’s baseball team set to defend Pan Am title
Update: Canada’s men are set to defend their Pan Am title against the USA on Sunday, in a rematch of the final from Guadalajara.
The Canadians crushed Puerto Rico 7-1 in their semifinal matchup on Saturday to book a spot in the final. Starter Phillippe Aumont threw a dominant performance with 8 scoreless innings, and the Canadians were able to shut down Puerto Rico’s potent offence. Aumont allowed only 3 hits and 1 walk to go along with his 8 strikeouts. Aumont is now 2-0 at Toronto 2015.
Phillippe Aumont helped push the Canadian men’s team to Sunday’s baseball finals. (Photo: Winston Chow)
On the offensive side, it was a whole team effort. Jordan Lennerton, Brock Kjelgaard and Tyson Gillies each hit a home run on the day, while Peter Orr went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.
The Canadians will take on the team from the USA in Sunday’s final. When the two teams squared off in the preliminary round, it was the USA who took the win 4-1. The Canadians will be hoping to redeem themselves, and repeat the situation from the Guadalajar final, where they beat the USA 2-1 to take the gold.
July 18 – Canada will face Puerto Rico in the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games semifinals after losing to the United States.
It was Canada’s first baseball loss of TO2015. The host nation had an early lead scoring first in the second inning, however the Americas – who faced elimination – shut down Canadian bats rest of the way to a 4-1 win.
Despite suffering its first defeat, Canada remains in the running to reclaim its Pan Am title and will take on Puerto Rico in the semifinals on Saturday.
Rene Tosoni batting for Canada at the Pan Am Games in Toronto. Jeffrey Sze/COC
Canada started the competition strong, ready to win on home soil. Chris Leroux started off the game with six shutout innings, while Jordan Lennerton added a three-run homer in the sixth to bring Canada a 4-1 victory. With adrenaline high from their first win the team was ready for day two, where they defeated Colombia 10-4.
Tyler O’Neill playing left field during Canada v. Dominican Republic at the Pan Am Games on July 12, 2015. Jeffrey Sze/COC
Next the Canadians took on the Cubans, who were blanked for six scoreless innings by Shawn Hill. If that wasn’t enough, Tyler O’Neill unleashed a three-run homer helping Canada to a 3-1 victory over Cuba.
After a day of rest, the Canadians came back fresh ready to take on Puerto Rico and won 11-4 for their biggest win of the competition.
Skyler Stromsmoe makes a run to third base. Stromsmoe had one run in Canda’s game against Puerto Rico July 16, 2015. Jeffrey Sze/COC
On Saturday, the men’s team will face Puerto Rico in the semifinals. The women’s baseball team will start its quest for a Pan Am title on July 20 against Cuba in their first match of the Games.
