Solid Day 8 for Canada at Pan Am Games

TORONTO – Canada started slow on Day 8 of the 2015 Pan American Games, but the host country rebounded and finished with a solid day.

The men’s softball team, cyclist Hugo Barrette and veteran swimmer Ryan Cochrane all won gold medals Saturday to add to Canada’s impressive total.

IN PHOTOS: Images from competition on Day 7 of the Pan Am Games

The softball team capped a slow afternoon for Canada with a 2-1 win over Venezuela for their eighth straight Pan Am gold.

Brad Ezekiel provided the heroics with a game-winning two-run home run to left-centre in the sixth inning.

Pitcher Sean Cleary settled down after some early control issues and kept Venezuelan hitters off-balance until the seventh. He gave up a run then but held on.

“We wanted to bring a swagger back to Canada and I think we’ve done that,” Canada coach John Stuart said, adding it was particularly satisfying to win gold on home soil.

“It’s history. It’s never been done before. That’s something these guys can be very proud of,” he said.

READ MORE: Canadians surpass 100 medal-mark at Pan Am Games on Day 7

After Canada completed the final out, Venezuelan players weren’t happy about how the Canadians were celebrating and tempers briefly flared.

“That’s a shame. It put a damper on our celebration,” Stuart said. “That’s their problem to deal with. I don’t know what happened. I was just trying to get our guys off the field to celebrate and enjoy the moment.”

Later, Barrette continued Canada’s dominance in track cycling, winning gold in the men’s sprint.

The native of Cap-aux-Meules, Que., swept Trinidad and Tobago’s Njisane Phillip 2-0 in the best-of-three final. Barrette clinched the victory with a perfectly executed slip move underneath to pass Phillip and take a lead he’d never relinquish.

“I wanted the front, I took the front,” he said. “I was confident, I wanted to win for the home crowd.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I wanted the front, I took the front," he said. "I was confident, I wanted to win for the home crowd."

Canada has five gold medals so far on the track at the velodrome in Milton, Ont.

Canada closed out the swimming competition with four medals Saturday, including a gold for Victoria native Cochrane in the men’s 1,500-metre freestyle.

Cochrane set a new Pan Am record by winning in a time of 15 minutes 6.40 seconds.

It’s the second gold of the Games for Victoria native Cochrane, who won the men’s 400 freestyle on Friday.

The women’s 4×100 medley relay team took silver, while Sydney Pickrem earned a bronze medal in the women’s 200 individual medley. The men’s 4×100 relay added another bronze.

READ MORE: NBAers Bennett, Nicholson highlight Canada’s Pan Am men’s basketball roster

Earlier, Lee Parkhill of Oakville, Ont., won bronze in the men’s laser sailing, finishing the race with 12 points.

Vancouver rhythmic gymnast Patricia Bezzoubenko won a bronze medal in the individual all-around competition, holding on to third place despite dropping the ribbon early in her final routine at the Toronto Coliseum.

Bezzoubenko won five gold medals at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Winnipeg’s Jay Lyon won bronze in the men’s individual archery competition, defeating American Zach Garrett 6-0 in the third-place match.

In wrestling, Arjun Gill of Quesnel, B.C., won silver in the men’s 97-kilogram freestyle, and Tamerlan Tagziev won bronze in the men’s 86-kg freestyle.

There will be more medals on the way for Canada, as the baseball team advanced to the final with a 7-1 win over Puerto Rico.

In women’s basketball, Canada beat Cuba 71-68 to set up a semifinal meeting with Brazil.