WC electrifies at national championship

CARP – The West Carleton Electric crushed their opening day at the U20 Canadian Fast Pitch Championship now underway in Carp this week.

The bats were banging all day long and the defence was electric as West Carleton outscored their first two opponents 23 to five on the first day of the weeklong national championship being played at the Carp Fairgrounds Ball Diamonds. The two wins put the Electric in second after day one (based on run differential) behind Ontario’s Rostock Braves in the nine-team championship. The Electric’s offense was second to Rostock who scored 25 runs on the opening day, and its defence was second to none with only five runs given up.

The Electric are made up of players from across the Ottawa Valley including several on the hometown team from West Carleton such as Kinburn and Fitzroy Harbour.

The round-robin portion of the tournament got underway at 10:30 a.m. yesterday (Aug. 20) with the Electric taking on a tough Équipe du Québec in their first game at 2 p.m. The game was well attended and the fans were provided with a thrilling contest with multiple lead changes.

The Electric opened the scoring in the second inning when Connor Paige of Chatsworth, ON, hit a triple, and then got home on a throwing error.

Québec’s Mark Tomatuk would get the lead back for his team, hitting a three-run homer over the left field fence. The Electric wouldn’t be down for long as in the bottom half of the same inning William Potten would hit an RBI single and Dylan Rorwick would restore the lead with a two-run triple.

Québec would tie the game after Charles-Étienne Asselin would battle through seven pitches for an RBI single.

The Electric would get the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth after Potten, Rorwick and Ryland Hill would all score.

Dakota McComb pitched for the Electric giving up six hits and two earned runs over seven innings striking out nine and walking three.

The tournament’s opening ceremony was held at 6 p.m. and the Electric would play in the evening showcase at 8 p.m. against the Manitoba Fisher River Hawks.

It was barely a contest as the Electric would win 16-1 after the Hawks opened the scoring in the first inning. The game would be called after three innings due to the tournament’s Mercy Rule.

The Electric would score six runs on four hits in their half of the first and never looked back. Kinburn’s Finn Barton had two hits in two at bats adding three RBIs. Potten had two hits, one run and four RBIs. Rorwick would hit a home run in the game for two RBIs and five other Electric players would also earn an RBI.

Fitzroy Harbour’s Gabe Brown earned the win as pitcher giving up only two hits and zero earned runs over three innings striking out eight and walking one.

Electric coach Adam Brown says the team’s management was thrilled with the team’s opening day.

“The coaches are really pleased with the Electric’s first two games, especially getting a win against a strong team from Québec,” Brown told West Carleton Online today (Aug, 21). “Our bats were working really well, and our team has had great at bats up and down the order.”

But today (Aug. 21) is a new day, and Brown and his team are keeping their collective eye on the prize.

The Electric play the Nova Scotia Selects at 4:15 p.m. followed by a game against the tournament’s defending champions the Napanee Express under the lights at 8:15 p.m. West Carleton has two games each on Thursday (Aug. 22) and Friday (Aug. 23) both days at 2 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. with a final round-robin game against the team currently above them in the standings – Rostock. The playoffs start this weekend.

“We hope to keep rolling in our next six round robin games so we can lock in a spot in Saturday’s (Aug. 24) playoff round,” Brown said.

For tickets, schedules and more, visit Softball Canada’s 2024 U20 Fast Pitch Championship website here.

Daily passes are $10.