PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – A 5-2 loss to New Zealand put an end to Canada’s championship hopes at the world junior men’s softball championship on Saturday.
Canada finished in fourth place. Australia defeated Japan 6-1 in the gold-medal game.
Brookfield shortstop Rowan Sears, and pitcher David Watson of Milford, were members of the Canadian squad, which went undefeated during the round-robin portion of the tournament. Canada lost 2-0 to Australia in its first playoff game, before defeating Argentina 6-4 in a an elimination game.
Watson pitched two innings of relief in the loss to New Zealand, allowing three runs on one hit, two walks with two strikeouts. Against Argentina, Watson notched a big strike out with the tying run at the plate to end the ball game.
Indian Brook pitcher Nathan Landry was a member of the United States team. The U.S. was eliminated after a 9-2 loss to Argentina last Friday.
Sears, Watson and Landry are teammates with the Colchester Royals under-19 team that will compete at nationals next month in Napanee, Ont.