By Scott Roblin

Medicine Hat falls to 1-4 record in loss to Team Ontario

Aug 7, 2017 | 5:35 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Medicine Hat’s defensive struggles at the 2017 Canadian Little League National Championships continued on Monday, as the local club fell to Team Ontario.

The Port Arthur Nationals ran out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning thanks to a three-run shot from pitcher Mike Danchuk.

Medicine Hat began to claw their way back in the bottom of the first, with lead-off hitter Evan Morrison powering a home-run over the Lovell McDonnell Park fence.

That was followed by a ground-out by Jeff Bullock that cashed in another run, closing the Ontario lead to 4-2.

Things took a turn in the second inning however, with the Nationals’ Evan Lachimea launching a home run to kick off a five-run inning.

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Leading 9-2 entering the third, Ontario scored five more runs to take a commanding 14-2 advantage with Medicine Hat back to bat.

A double from Stone Davis and a ground-out from Ben Van Der Sloot added two more runs for the Medicine Hat side, but Port Arthur held on for a 14-4 win after four innings.

Medicine Hat infielder Kevan Schafer said the team didn’t show a lot of resilience on Monday, especially after the first inning.

“We started off playing pretty good, some of us didn’t really feel like we wanted to keep playing,” said Schafer. “Some of us maybe felt a little bit down because the score was not on our side.”

Bullock pitched two innings for Medicine Hat and was credited with the loss, giving up eight earned runs on seven Nationals hits.

Danchuk was an incredible 3-4 at the plate with six RBIs for Ontario, while Morrison was Medicine Hat’s top batter with three hits and an RBI.

Medicine Hat head coach Marc Seiller said despite the loss and a 1-4 record to start the tournament, the experience has been incredible for his team.

“This is the tournament that you want to play in,” said Seiller. “At the end of the day, we’re just having fun playing baseball. And obviously, they’re going to cherish this memory for a long time, playing in a national championship at home.”

With the win, Ontario now holds a 4-1 record and are half a game back of Team BC, who remain undefeated this week.

It’s an off-day on Tuesday for the Medicine Hat club, as they close out the round-robin on Wednesday against Team Atlantic.