Canada Defends Home Turf in Pan Am Men`s Baseball -- On the Scene

(ATR) The baseball gold medal drought for the United States at the Pan American Games continues after host Canada came back to win 7-6 in the 10th inning on July 19 at President’s Choice Pan Am Ballpark in Ajax.

Pete Orr scored the gold-winning run as pitcher David Huff and right fielder Brian Bogusevic were charged with throwing errors. Canada successfully defended its Guadalajara 2011 gold medal and denied the U.S. its first since Winnipeg 1967.

"I knew they’d try the back door pick, and I told myself, be ready for it," Orr said. "The ball got away from him. It’s a tough way for them to lose. They are a great team, a great group of guys, a really classy group. So it had to have been tough."

Canada had trailed 6-4 in the first Pan Am baseball tournament under the new International Baseball Federation tiebreaker format, allowing each team to start with runners on first and second.

"I hate tiebreak rules like that, but both teams had the same opportunity," said Canadian manager Ernie Whitt. "And they executed and got two runs. We failed to get a bunt down, and they tried to put on a pick play and it didn’t work for them, and it was good for us."

"That’s not really the way you’d like to lose a baseball game," said USA manager Jim Tracy. "When you get to that point in time, if you’re going to get beat, you’d like to see yourself get beat at home plate."

U.S. designated hitter Patrick Kivelhan’s two-run homer in the second and an RBI single by Jacob Wilson were matched by Canadian Rene Tosini’s three-run homer in the bottom of the third. Orr scored on a Jordan Lennerton sacrifice fly for a 4-3 lead in the fifth, but Kivelhan, who doubled to left field, came home on an Albert Almora RBI single to tie the game. Tyler Pastornicky’s double in the 10th gave the U.S. a 6-4 lead.

"It's a very humbling game," Pastornicky said. "You feel the highs and it brings you to your knees. One of the best weeks of my life."

Earlier, Cuba beat Puerto Rico for the bronze.

Between games, staff at the Ajax venue had to deal with collapsed security fences after the onset of heavy winds from a brief, powerful thunderstorm. Toronto 2015 staff, Contemporary Security contractors and members of the Durham Regional Police scrambled to remove the look of the Games banners and return the fences to their normal upright position outside the Audley Recreation Centre.

Meanwhile, women’s baseball made its Pan Am Games debut in Ajax on July 20, with Venezuela meeting the U.S. and Cuba meeting Canada.

No Live TV for Baseball Gold

Canada’s biggest international baseball game on home soil in decades was not broadcast live.

CBC, the host broadcaster, did not show the game on its national TV network when it got underway at 7 p.m. local time. It was available on one of its live streams, however.

"We would like to see every successful Canadian team or athlete be on live broadcasting," said TO2015 CEO Saad Rafi. "It’s just not practically possible, so I think what we’ve done together with CBC is do the best we can to get the best of these Games into people who are watching them."

Hoops

U.S. and Canada meet July 20 for women’s basketball gold at the Ryerson Athletic Centre, the renovated former home of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

The final pits Breanna Stewart of the U.S. against her University of Connecticut teammate Kia Nurse of Canada. Stewart led UConn to three NCAA championships.

The Canadian and U.S. men’s teams begin their quest for gold on July 21.

The venue was home to professional basketball in three different eras: Basketball Association of America Toronto Huskies (1946-1947), National Basketball Association Buffalo Braves (1971-1975) and Toronto Raptors, when their original home, SkyDome, was unavailable from 1997 to 1999. The Raptors now play downtown at Air Canada Centre, which is not being used.

Up and Down for Mexico

Maria Gonzalez of Mexico collapsed at the finish line of the 20 km race walk, but set a new Games record of 1:29:24 for the gold.

"I did not feel well, but at the end of the day I am satisfied because I beat my personal best and I am happy," Gonzalez said. "I recovered quickly, in about 15 minutes."

In the men’s 20 km walk, Canada’s Evan Dunfee and Inaki Gomez won gold and silver.

Colombia swept men’s, women’s and mixed golf gold medals at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham. Marcelo Rozo and Mariajo Uribe won their respective golds after bouncing back from two shots back.

Mark Modderman and daughter Grace combined for a silver medal sail in the Open Hobie 16 race at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club on July 19.

"It’s an incredible memory," Grace Modderman said. "How many people can say they’ve come to an event like this and they’ve won a medal and done it with their dads?"

Canadian trampoline gymnast Rosie MacLennan, the Guadalajara 2011 and London 2012 gold medallist, overcame a pre-Games concussion to win Pan Am gold. MacLennan suffered the injury in training three weeks ago.

"If you asked me a week-and-a-half ago whether I was going to compete here, it was really a 50-50 chance," she said. "I was pretty devastated when I realized that maybe competing here wasn’t a possibility."

Written by Bob Mackinin Toronto

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