Mathematically, there was still a chance Canadian Sidearm Nation could finish second in the Ramada World Baseball Challenge when they left Citizen Field Thursday evening after beating the Thurston County Senators 11-8.
Not willing to discount the possibility his team will be playing in the gold-medal game Saturday at 6 p.m., Sidearm Nation manager Geoff Freeborn didn't want to think about the future.
He was more concerned about addressing the mistakes of the most recent past. His team made just two errors on the field Thursday while improving their record to 3-2 but Freeborn has seen enough baseball to know they have to be a lot sharper with their gloves if they hope to leave Prince George with some hardware.
The only way for Sidearm Nation to get into the first-versus-second final is if Japan goes on to lose its final two round-robin games. Japan was playing the winless (0-5) Kamloops Sun Devils Thursday night, leading 8-0 and bating in the bottom of the fifth inning at presstime, and is scheduled to play Sidearm Nation tonight at 8 p.m.
While their defence was shaky at times against the Senators, there was nothing wrong with the Sidearm Nation pitching, and their bats had plenty of pop. Long balls made a huge impact on the Calgary-based team's bottom line and two of those bombs came in a six-run fourth inning.
The teams were tied 2-2 when Aaron Dunsmore strode to the plate with the bases loaded. Dan Chappel and Billy Clapperton both reached base on errors and J.P. Willner was on with a single when Dunsmore got the barrel of his bat square on a Tyler Vavra pitch, slamming it over the right field fence. The next batter, Jason Louis, went to the opposite field for his second home run in three games. Ryan Thrasher then walked and Duncan Elbert brought him in with a triple.
"I needed that (grand slam), it helped us get going in the fourth inning, gave us a little cushion," said Dunsmore, 28, the designated hitter, who arrived in Prince George Monday from his home in Edmonton.
"Thurston County has some good players, it seems like they're a little thin on arms, so if you can get to their starter, that helps. Our pitchers did a good job of closing it out, especially at the end there, our relievers gave up just three runs in the last four innings and that's what we needed to win it."
The Senators hung three unearned runs on Sidearm Nation pitcher Ryan Johnson in the top of the fifth inning, which started when second baseman Chappel mishandled a one-hopper hit by leadoff-man Keone McKee. McKee stole his way into scoring position and d'Andrey Van Slyke brought him home with a single. Then with two out, Alex Bryner singled to centre field , scoring Connor Bensen and Van Slyke, which cut the Sidearm Nation lead to 8-5.
The Alberta boys had Louis and Kevin Czernicki on the bases in the seventh and Ryan Thrasher seized the moment with a three-run home run. Thurston County countered with three runs in the eighth when Omar Maldanado, the Senators' six-foot 3 -inch catcher, cleared the bases with a standup double.
"We battled and they put some good wood on the ball and we did as well," said Maldanado, 21, who makes his home in Redondo Beach, Calif.
"We made a couple key errors in key situations, making the pitcher (Damon Porter) work a bit more. We really needed him to go deep to get those outs, it would have been very helpful for his pitch count, but it was a group effort and the guys really gave it their all and came up short. I think we'll have a better game coming up Saturday for that bronze medal."
Porter was pulled after the seventh inning having made 112 pitches. Ryan Johnson recorded the win for Sidearm Nation, allowing eight hits and five runs in five innings. Riley Schaaf took over from Vavra in the eighth to close it out.
If the standings remain unchanged, the Senators will meet Sidearm Nation for bronze Saturday at 2 p.m. The teams met in the opening weekend and Sidearm Nation came out on top, 6-5.
Picking up where they left off Monday in an 11-1 triumph over Kamloops, Japan got off to an impressive start, building a 6-0 lead after one inning. Japan already had one run across when Tatsuya Maruko swatted a three-run homer with two out. Shunta Tanaka, in his second trip to the plate in the first inning, singled off Kamloops starter Brandon Marklund to bring in two more runs.
Japan added to the count with runs in the second and sixth innings.
Pitcher Hitoshi Kondo was impressive in his second WBC start, allowing just two hits through five innings before he handed the ball to Yuki Sameshima with a 7-0 lead.
Team Japan appeared well on its way to finishing atop the standings with a 5-0 record with one game remaining tonight at 8 p.m. against Canadian Sidearm Nation. Kamloops, which is out of playoff contention, was heading for an 0-5 record.
Ramada World Baseball Challenge
Standings
(Not including Thursday's Kamloops-Japan game)
| Team | W | L |
| Japan | 4 | 0 |
| Roswell Invaders | 4 | 1 |
| Canadian Sidearm Nation | 3 | 2 |
| Thurston County Senators | 1 | 4 |
| Kamloops Sun Devils | 0 | 5 |
Thursday's results
Canadian Sidearm Nation11 Thurston County 8
Japan vs. Kamloops, late
Wednesday's results
Roswell 12 Kamloops 2
Japan 12 Thurston County 9
Tuesday's results
Canadian Sidearm Nation 10 Kamloops 5
Roswell 11 Thurston County 1
Monday's results
Japan 11 Kamloops 1
Roswell 10 Canadian Sidearm Nation 2
Sunday's results
Thurston County13 Kamloops 9
Japan 11 Roswell 3
Saturday's results
Canada Sidearm Nation 6 Thurston County 5
Roswell 8 Kamloops 7
Friday's result
Japan 11 Canada Sidearm Nation 7
Upcoming games (all at Citizen Field)
Today
Thurston County vs. Roswell, 4 p.m.
Canada Sidearm Nation vs. Japan, 8 p.m.
Saturday
Bronze medal, 2 p.m.
Gold medal, 6 p.m.
