One more out. That was all Team Canada needed to win its first gold medal on home soil at the ISF Junior Men's World Fast Pitch Championship, but a clutch single up the middle scored both the tying and go-ahead runs to give Australia the 2-1 victory.

Australia's come-from-behind win on Sunday in Whitehorse marked the fourth consecutive time the country has captured the gold medal at this tournament. The loss for Canada ended what was a magical run for the young Canadian squad.

"I was so proud of my athletes in the dedication and performance that they acquitted themselves with here," said Tom Doucette, Team Canada's head coach.

"A silver medal is great; (we) lost a gold medal by about two feet when the ball just slipped through the middle. I just can't say how proud I am of our program and of the team and their efforts and I hope we made Whitehorse proud as well."

At the conclusion of the round robin Friday, Canada found itself with a record of 9-2, which was good enough to place the group third overall. The team's first playoff game was against fourth place New Zealand.

With its hopes of continuing the tournament on the line, Canada managed to get on the board. The team scored the first run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a wild pitch with two outs and the bases loaded. New Zealand was able to record the final out to get out of the inning without giving up any additional runs.

A Canadian fielding error on a routine ground ball in the sixth inning brought New Zealand back into the game, tying the contest up at 1-1.

New Zealand had an opportunity to take the lead with runners on first and second and only one out, but the always reliable defensive play of third baseman Dylan Cunningham got his team out of the jam.

Cunningham converted a double play after a choppy ground ball was hit his way. Like a pro, Cunningham handled the grounder perfectly, touching the base casually before firing a dart to first for the final out.

Canadian pitcher Dustin Keshane continued his brilliant play in the top of the seventh, recording his 11th strikeout of the game to end the inning. Canada capitalized on being the home team in the game.

In the seventh inning, with one out and runners on first and second, Canadian short stop Terrel Walker singled up the middle. Walker's single drove in the game-winning run to a thunderous applause from the stands. The final score was 2-1.

Canada's next game was against Japan on Sunday. Once again Keshane pitched the game, which was his third outing in a row for Team Canada.

Japan didn't waste any time establishing an early lead in the game, hitting a two-run home run with only one out. Keshane settled right down after the two-run shot and struck the two following batters to get out of the inning.

In the third inning, Canada took the lead for the first time in the game. The rally began with a single up the middle from Jessin Potskin.

With only one out, Dan Mitchell showcased his offensive capabilities, hitting a two-run homer to tie the contest up at 2-2. Canadian flags were proudly displayed with fans chanting "Let's go Canada!" from the stands

Canada wasn't done yet and with the fans still pumped-up from the home run, Walker stepped up to the plate amidst cheers and applause. Walker made no mistake firing a solo-shot over the wall to give Canada a 3-2 lead.

Japan showed some resilience of its own in the bottom of the seventh.

Being just one out from elimination, a Japanese player, ripped a solo-shot to tie the game at 3-3. Keshane, in typical fashion, didn't let the set back get to him at all and he promptly struck out the very next batter to get out of the inning.

This was Keshane's 12th strike out of the game.

In the bottom of the seventh, Canada would once again end the game in dramatic fashion. With a runner on base, Cunningham didn't falter, hitting Canada's second two-run shot of the game to give his team the 5-3 victory.

Just a couple of hours after Canada beat Japan; the team found itself going head-to-head with the powerhouse Australians, who had finished the round robin with a record of 10-1.

One of the most enthusiastic crowds took in the game and plenty of support was shown for the Canadians as fans chanted a number of different things, such as "Three up, three down!,"

"Canada, Canada, eh, eh, eh!" and of course the more traditional "Let's go Canada!" throughout the course of the game.

The gold medal contest was highlighted by stellar defensive plays from both teams, which included a hard line ball caught by Cunningham on third base for Canada and a spectacular leaping grab from Australia's short stop, Ryan Lavers, to rob Mike Noftall of a hit. Lavers' catch was so impressive that even some of the Canadian fans were cheering.

The goose eggs for both teams continued into extra innings, when Canada finally notched a run on a single by Cory Jones. The hit cashed in Jessin Potskin, who was on second, which is an ISF tie-breaking rule.

Hoping to increase the lead, Mitchell came up to the plate and hit a hard liner to the short stop, who after catching the shot was able to quickly relay the ball to first to pick off Jones for the double play. Shane Boland struck out to end the inning, leaving Canada only three outs away from capturing the gold.

Devon McCullough continued to pitch for Canada and was able to get the first Australian batter to fly out to left field. In what was a close play, the relay throw to second base was just a half a second late from doubling up on the Australian base runner.

The next batter for Australia ripped a hard liner to right field, but the throw in was right on the money and held the runners on first and third. After the Australian runner stole second base, McCullough made a nice play to record an out.

The Canadian pitcher snagged down a grounder and looked back the runner at third before firing to first for the second out.

With pitcher Matt Stafford set to bat, Australian head coach, John Nielsen made substituted fellow teammate Drew Faulkner to bat in his place.

The gamble paid off and Faulkner hit a shot straight up the middle to bring in both base runners, ending the game by the close score of 2-1.

Team Australia rushed onto the field jumping for joy as many fans stood applauding the tremendous effort made by both teams.

"It's pretty intense," Faulkner said regarding the pressure of being put in that situation. "You don't want to let the team down, but you just do the best job that you can. Anything close I was hitting."

He said Canada played a fantastic game.

"There was none better to play against really," Faulkner said. "We had to fight hard, show a bit of heart and that is what we did, but it was tough."

Nielsen said it felt good to win in such a dramatic fashion.

"To win the final that way was fantastic," he said "It probably still hasn't sunk in yet."

He said Canada really improved throughout the tournament.

"It was great final," Nielsen said. "I would have liked to win the final 7-0, but for the crowd and for those players it's a hard way to lose. You feel a little bit sorry for them, but it was a great game."

Nielsen said he is just going to enjoy the moment.

"I'll enjoy it," he said. "It will be a good night, it's a good achievement."

McCullough said he was disappointed about not winning the gold, but still pleased with the way Canada played throughout the championship.

"The whole team played great this whole tournament," he said. "We had a great final and there is nothing more you can ask for for that."