Canadians able to muster a win

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BANGOR – Motivation may have the deciding factor Thursday as the Westfort International Little League of Thunder Bay, Ontario, knocked off Clarkesville, Ga., 10-6 in the final day of Pool A play at the Senior League World Series.

Thunder Bay, the Canadian champion, was seeking its first tournament victory and trying to avoid being the only winless team in the field after losing its first three games by a combined five runs.

Clarkesville, the U.S. South champion, already had clinched a berth in the semifinals and may have been looking ahead to Friday’s 2:30 p.m. matchup against Pool B champion Urbandale, Iowa.

If that was the case, Thunder Bay certainly took advantage, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning and scoring all 10 of its runs in two-out situations.

“It feels excellent to get a win,” said Thunder Bay center fielder Andrew Agombar. “We were in every game, but we made some sketchy errors that cost us.

“But it feels good to win one down here in our first time in the World Series.”

Evan Matson earned the pitching win, allowing two earned runs on three hits over four innings.

Agombar was one of the Canadians’ offensive catalysts, rocketing a three-run home run in the first inning as Thunder Bay capitalized on early wildness by Clarkesville starter Stan Brantley, who walked four of the first eight batters he faced. Christopher Kovac, who started the rally with a one-out triple to center, scored the other run of the inning on a wild pitch.

Clarkesville closed within 4-2 in the fourth on an RBI single by Kyle Parker and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Grier Rogers.

But Thunder Bay sent 11 batters in the top of the fifth to score six more runs. Kovac had a two-run single up the middle to cap off that uprising, while Brendan Willis, Christopher Bewski and Devon Carson added RBI singles.

Clarkesville (2-2) tried to come back against the Thunder Bay bullpen, with Ismael Garza singling home a run in the fifth and Caleb Vermilya’s RBI single highlighting a two-run rally in the sixth.

But Bewski, who pitched well in a tournament-opening 2-1 loss to host Bangor, came on to allow just a hit and a walk over the final 1 1/3 innings.

Thunder Bay finished with 12 hits, including a homer and a single by Agombar, a triple and a single by Kovac and two singles each by Matson, Willis and Randall Hanlan.

Vermilya, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, was Clarkesville’s lone repeat hitter with a pair of singles.

CANADA 10, U.S. SOUTH 6

(Pool A)

Thunder Bay, Ont. (1-3) Clarkesville, Ga. (2-2)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Bertuzzo, 1b 3 0 0 0 Mixon, cf 1 2 0

Hanlan, lf 2 0 2 0 Lewallen, 2b-rf 2 0 0

Kovac, 2b-p 5 1 2 2 Garza, ss 2 0 1

Oleksuk, ss-p 5 0 0 0 Holden, 3b 2 0

Labelle, c 2 1 0 0 Humphries, 3b 1 1 1

Smith, c 0 1 0 0 Boydstun, lf-cf 3 1 0

Winters, 3b 1 1 0 0 Jackson, c-2b 3 0 0

Willis, 3b 2 1 2 1 Parker, rf-c 4 0 1

Agombar, cf 3 2 2 3 Rogers, 2b-lf 3 0 1

Bewski, rf-1b-p 3 1 1 1 Brantley, p-1b 4 0

Carson, lf-rf 2 1 1 1 Vermilya, 1b-p 4 1

Matson, p-2b 4 1 2 0

Totals 32 10 12 8 Totals 29 6 9 5

Canada 400 060 0 – 10

U.S. South 000 213 0 – 6

E-Garza 2, Jackson, Brantley; LOB-Canada 8, U.S. South 9; 2B-Brantley; 3B-Kovac; HR-Agombar; SB-Kovac

Canada IP H R ER BB SO

Matson (W, 1-0) 4 3 2 2 1 2

Kovac 1 3 1 1 1 0

Oleksuk 2/3 2 3 3 2 2

Bewski 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 1

U.S. South IP H R ER BB SO

Brantley (L, 0-1) 4 2/3 9 10 10 6 3

Vermilya 2 1/3 3 0 0 1 1

HBP-Garza (by Matson), Rogers (by Bewski); WP-Kovac 2, Bewski; Brantley; BK-Brantley; T-2:13; ATT-375 (est.)