The White Rock Rockies pitcher Justin Schofield pitched a solid first game against the Halifax Pepperjacks.
Schofield, playing for the East Hants Mastodons, led his team to the gold medal game with several outstanding pitching performances.
Although he was the losing pitcher in a 4-3 loss to DC Galway Hitmen from Newfoundland and Labrador in the gold medal final, his pitching throughout the tournament earned him the top pitcher award.
Schofield’s first appearance in the tournament resulted in a complete-game 4-0 shutout over Saskatoon Aug. 26 that improved the East Hants record to 2-0. He allowed just two hits, walked one and struck out 10.
After a 7-1 East Hants loss to DC Hitmen, Schofield took the mound and again went the distance, this time in a 3-0 win over the host team from Quebec. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out five.
That result improved East Hants’ record to three wins and one loss. In their final round robin game, the Mastodons were edged 3-2 by the top Ontario team from Kitchener.
In the playoff round, East Hants ended up meeting Kitchener twice. On Aug. 29, Schofield again pitched the complete game, allowing four hits and one run and striking out six in a 5-1 East Hants victory.
In the game against Kitchener the following day, with the winner earning a berth in the final, Schofield pitched the first three innings, allowing no runs, one hit and striking out four. His teammates picked him up to the tune of a 9-1 win.
Schofield also drew the starting assignment in the final against a DC Galway Hitmen team that was going for its fourth straight national championship.
Schofield pitched six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out seven. On a lot of days, that performance would have been enough for a win, but the Mastodons ended up falling one run short of victory.
Schofield appeared in five tournament games, winning four and losing one. He pitched a total of 30 innings, allowing 17 hits, walking six and striking out 32. He threw two shutouts, and his earned run average for the tournament was 1.17.
Schofield, very much a team player, downplayed his own heroics.
“The team battled together, and we’re very proud of what we accomplished,” he said. He described the tournament as “hard-fought to the end.”
The silver medal, while deserved, was “not the colour we wanted, but we’ll be back next year to give it another go.”
