The Alpines defeated the Chatham O’Donaghue’s Junior Ironmen 13-6 in Game 4 of the best-of-five league final Aug. 21 at Ironmen Field.
Not only did the victory give the Alpines their first title in the four-team junior circuit since 2023, but it also allowed them to punch their ticket to the 2026 Baseball Canada 22-and-Under Men’s Championships in Tecumseh, Ont.
The pennant capped off a season that saw the Alpines go 12-8 before enjoying a 6-1 playoff run that included a sweep of the Fredericton Simpson Junior Royals in three straight games in the semifinals.
Saint John took the series opener against Chatham 19-9 in the league final Aug. 17 at Memorial Field before dropping a 12-2 decision the next day in Miramichi. The Alpines won the third game 11-1 Aug. 20 at home.
The Ironmen, who went 6-15 in regular-season play, upset the top-seeded Moncton’s Metro Mudcats in the semis.
Winning pitcher Ryan Galbraith was named player of the game for Saint John in Game 4 of the final after scattering five earned runs on 10 hits while striking out two Ironmen and issuing a pair of free passes in five innings on the mound. Spencer Johnson’s line included a run, a hit, two strikeouts, and two walks in as many innings.
Adam Wenzel of the Ironmen gave up six runs on three hits while fanning four Alpines and walking three in as many innings on the bump. Mathieu Robichaud and Waylon Matchett combined to allow seven runs on as many hits, walk two, and punch out five Alpines in four innings of work.
A second-inning RBI groundout from Moses Mumford and single from Charlie Roche got the Alpines on the board. The Ironmen replied with a single from Marcus Wilson.
Saint John notched six runs on four hits in the fourth frame to take control of the game off a two-run double from Tyler Doucette, a scoring single from Chase Blucher, and an RBI double from Galbraith, who scored on a wild pitch on the next play.
The Alpines sealed Chatham’s fate with five runs on three hits in the seventh, thanks to an Ironmen error that scored a run, as well as a two-run double from Galbraith and a two-run single from Carter Cooling.
The other Ironmen runs came from a bases-loaded walk from Wenzel in the sixth and RBI singles from Wilson and Jack Bennett in the fourth. Wilson pounced after a balk in the third.
The Charlottetown Gaudet’s Auto Body Islanders are this year’s national senior baseball champions after an 8-1 win over Team Quebec in the final Sunday in Regina, Sask., while representing the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League on the national stage for the second straight season.
Islanders ace Jordan Stevenson earned the win after holding Quebec to three hits in the gold-medal game while Charlottetown recorded nine hits, with six coming from Simon Dubois, Josh Myers, and Nick MacPhail’s bats.
Stevenson’s line also included a run, two walks, and two strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
The Islanders’ attack featured a bases-loaded walk from MacPhail and scoring singles from Myers and Cole MacLaren in the first inning, a lead-off homer from MacPhail and a two-run single from Dubois in the third, and a two-run dinger from Myers in the sixth.
The Islanders blanked the host Team Saskatchewan 4-0 in the semifinal earlier Sunday. Charlottetown opened the tournament with a 6-2 win over Team Ontario 2 Aug. 21 at Currie Field. That was followed by a 7-2 loss to Team Quebec and a 9-5 setback against the host squad Aug. 22.
The Islanders edged Team British Columbia 9-8 Aug. 23 in their round-robin finale and thumped Team Manitoba 11-1 in the quarterfinals later that day.
Charlottetown’s pickups from around the league for nationals included Max Grant of Fredericton and Colby Lyle of Oromocto from the Fredericton Simpson Royals, Saint-Anne-de-Kent’s Justin Cormier of the Moncton Dixie Lee Mets, and Saint John’s Haden Dow of the Saint John AJ’s Alpines.
Mets import Nathan Van Putten, an Ontario product and a former Royals import, suited up for Charlottetown in Regina. Max Jardine of Miramichi also just wrapped up his second full season with the baseball Islanders after joining the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Charlottetown Islanders mid-season in 2023-24.
The defending champ Woodstock Shiretowners will appear in the Capital City Intermediate Baseball League final for the second straight year after eliminating the Devon Boys Lawn Care Orioles in four games in the best-of-five semifinal.
The Shiretowners earned a date with the Grand Falls McCain Cataractes in the championship round with their 3-2 triumph over the Orioles Aug. 21 at Royals Field. That followed a 6-4 Shiretowners win Aug. 18 in Fredericton.
The Cataractes ended the Fredericton Nissan Astros’ season with a three-game sweep in the other semifinal, which concluded with a 6-0 Grand Falls win in the third contest Aug. 21 at Royals Field. The Cataractes took the second game 11-1 Aug. 19 in Grand Falls.
The league final was scheduled to begin Sunday night at Veterans Field. Game 2 is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Dale Allen Field, with Game 3 set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Grand Falls. If needed, Game 4 is slated for Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Woodstock.
The deciding game will be played on Labour Day in Grand Falls, if necessary.
The Dieppe Cardinals and Saint John Angels will compete for a Southern New Brunswick Baseball League title this year for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
The Angels advanced to the league final after a 12-5 victory over the Saint John Mariners in the deciding game of the best-of-five league semis Aug. 21 at Memorial Field.
That came on the heels of an 11-10 Mariners win in Game 4 Aug. 19 at Memorial Field.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals earned a league final berth after sweeping the KV Red Sox in the other semifinal. Dieppe prevailed in a 17-11 slugfest in Game 3 Aug. 16 at Wells Recreational Field in Rothesay.
The league final began Sunday at Memorial Field. Games 2 and 3 are set for Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, at 7:30 p.m. at Lakeburn Park in Dieppe.
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