Bryson Gould was a little bit wild in the early going against the Ochapowace Junior Thunder until he got used to the pitching rubber.
He hit the first batter he faced, walked the next guy and gave up a two-run hit to Tabrey Still, allowing the Thunder to chip away at the Prince George Junior River Kings' first-inning lead.
But after that, it was pretty much a lights-out performance from Gould.
The 21-year import from Cape Breton, N.S. was spewing fire with his fadeaway drop-ball and pitched a two-hitter in a mercy-rule-shortened 10-2 four-inning victory Friday afternoon at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships at Carrie Jane Gray Park.
The lopsided score allowed River Kings manager Randy Potskin to get all his players involved in the game.
Gould brought his catcher from Nova Scotia, Zac Denny, who let only one or two balls get behind him, and Denny's calming influence was key in the opening-day win.
Gould started playing fastball at age 12 and has been pitching in the Cape Breton men's league since he was 14.
He's been in Prince George the past month practicing with the River Kings.
The junior tournament is being played at the minor boys field, which doesn't host many games during the year and Gould noticed it.
"The mound was pretty crappy out there but it was good pitching and we have a good team, good bats and good fielding," said Gould.
Leading 4-2, the River Kings piled up six more runs in the third inning, which started when Brody Rosychuck beat out a throw to first base.
Denny then hit the ball back to Thunder second baseman Dylan Kenny, but he overthrew to second trying to put out Rosychuck, who went all the way home.
Ryder McConnell bounced one off shortstop Brayden Starr's glove to score one more run and Lane Desjarlais's sharp hit over the head of the pitcher, Still, brought in two more runs.
With nobody out, Dakota Chartrand came in to pitch and Josh Anderson welcomed him with a single to drive in Desjarlais and Nicholas Potskin. In the third and fourth innings, Gould mowed down the Thunder in order, finishing with five strikeouts.
"Bryson walked two guys in the first inning there but after that he found a zone and nobody could get close to him," said Nicholas Potskin, the River Kings 19-year-old shortstop.
The Thunder played together in the Canada Day tournament at Spruce City Stadium but that's a far cry from the scope of playing in the 10-team native national junior tournament, part of a 77-team five-division event.
"I've been looking forward to this for months and we just played perfect together, our pitching was on-point and our hitting was on-point," added Nicholas Potskin, who helped Lenny's Selects of Prince George carve out a share of first place in the junior division with the Cross Lake (Man.) Diamondbacks at last year's native national tournament in Winnipeg.
Thunder centrefielder Ethan Bear, a key ingredient in the Seattle Thunderbirds' four-game sweep of the Prince George Cougars in the Western Hockey League playoffs four months ago at CN Centre, was the Thunder batter who got plunked by Gould, the only time in Friday's game Bear got on base. He and Brayden Starr both scored on Still's first-inning single.
"The pitcher was fast and they had a lot of good hitters - they brought their A-game but it was still a fun game," said Bear.
Drafted as a defenceman by the Edmonton Oilers in the fifth round in 2015, the 19-year-old Bear recently signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Oilers. Growing up on the Ochapowace reserve southeast of Regina, he's been playing fastball as long as he's been a hockey player.
"Every summer I go home and play with my native reservation and I look forward to being around the guys I grew up playing ball with my whole life, it's a great time and I enjoy it," Bear said.
"It's nice to get away from (hockey) and enjoy a different sport once in awhile."
In their tournament-opener Friday morning, the Thunder blanked Moricetown 10-0 in three innings. The River Kings will play their crosstown rivals, the Big Guy Lake Blazers, today at 11 a.m. at Ron Wiley Field at Carrie Jane Gray Park.
"I know everyone on that team except for a couple of guys and I'm predicting a tight game between the two local teams," said Blazers 18-year-old outfielder Jerricko Prince.
"I'm expecting a big crowd. This is the first time I've played in a big tournament in my hometown."
The Blazers defeated the FHQ Chiefs of Saskatchewan 7-3 Friday morning. R.J. Cyr clubbed a three-run home run in the bottom of the first, erasing a 2-0 deficit and the Blazers rode Wacey Strongeagle's pitching arm the rest of the way to claim the win.
The junior final is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. at Ron Wiley.
