Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Kyle Weese drove in three runs and turned in some sparking glove work while Riley Manion helped his own cause with a walk-off sac fly to lead the Napanee AFW Express to a 4-3 win over the Prince Albert Astros in the first game of the playoff round at the U19 Men’s Canadian Fast Pitch Championships this afternoon at the Fairgrounds.
Manion also pitched all eight innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out 15. He was matched up against Astros starter Cayden Schmautz, who also pitched a complete game in the loss.
Prince Albert’s Cayden Schmautz matched the Express’ Riley Manion pitch-for-pitch through the first seven innings. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Both starters turned in three scoreless innings before the Astros got to Manion for two runs in the top of the fourth when Landon Corture singled in a pair of runs for the Saskatchewan club.
Napanee responded in the bottom half of the inning when Kyle Weese knocked in a pair. Weese would late put the Express ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth with another RBI single, only to see the Astros rally in the seventh to scratch out a run.
After the Express failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, the game went to extra innings. Using international rules, each team started their inning with a runner on second. After shining with the bat, Weese turned in some tidy glove work to quell an Astros scoring opportunity in the eighth, quickly fielding a bunt attempt by the Astros’ lead off batter to freeze the runner at second and make the out at first. Manion then struck out the next two to give the Express a chance to walk it off.
With Connor Brooks placed at second, Napanee’s Finn Pierce bunted him to third, reaching safely on an error in the process. The Astros then walked Andrew Tucker to load the bases in an attempt to set up a force at home. That’s when Manion stepped to the plate, lifting a deep enough fly ball for Brooks to score the game winning run.
With the win, the Express are just one win away from advancing to Sunday’s gold medal game. They’ll look to punch their ticket this evening with a game scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. at the Fairgrounds.
A win there would advance them to tomorrow’s gold medal game, scheduled for 3 p.m. With a loss, they’d play at 12:30 p.m. in the semifinals.