Royals, Jackfish heading to winner-take-all fifth game

NEWS RELEASE
INTERCOUNTY BASEBALL LEAGUE
*************************
Royals, Jackfish going the distance
GUELPH – Welland and Guelph are going the distance.

The Jackfish kept its season alive and forced a deciding Game 5 with a 9-7 win Monday at David E. Hastings Stadium.

Tyler Dupuis went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs for Welland. Gianfranco Morello and Steven Moretto each drove in two, Robert Mullen hit a solo home run and Jonah Weisner singled twice and scored twice.

Brandon Marklund (1-0) earned the win in relief. He struck out one of the five batters he faced. Deivy Mendez picked up the save, allowing two runs on two hits in two innings. He walked six and struck out four. Starting pitcher Ben Abram went 5.1 innings and gave up five runs on nine hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Josh Garton singled and hit a solo home run for the Royals, who will need to win Thursday in Welland for the third time this series in order to advance. Carson Burns, Ashton Patterson, Ethan Hammond, J.D. Williams and Garrett Takamatsu drove in the other runs.

Rhys Montgomery (0-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up an unearned run on one hit and two walks in 4.1 innings of relief. He also struck out two. Hector Yan started and went three innings, allowing five runs on nine hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

Baycats advance to final
BARRIE – The Barrie Baycats booked their spot in the IBL final with an 8-2 home win Monday over London.

Barrie swept the best-of-five semifinal and will face Welland or Guelph in the final.

Nolan Machibroda hit a two-run home run and finished with three RBI for the Baycats. Canice Ejoh added a solo blast and Adam Odd went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Malik Williams and Royce Ando each had two hits and an RBI and Brandon Hernandez drove in a run.

Juan Benitez (2-0) went seven scoreless innings to pick up the win. He scattered four hits, walked two and struck out five.

Kaiden Cardoso went 2-for-4 and drove in a run for the Majors. Eduardo De Oleo had an RBI, and Brad Verhoeven and Tristan Osika each had a pair of hits.
Majors’ starting pitcher Alex Springer lasted two innings and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk.

Playoffs
Series E – Welland (1) vs. Guelph (4)
Series tied 2-2
Game 1: Guelph 4, Welland 2
Game 2: Welland 4, Guelph 3
Game 3: Guelph 12, Welland 3
Game 4: Welland 9, Guelph 7
Game 5: Thursday, Sept. 5 at Welland, 7:20 p.m.

Series F – Barrie (2) vs. London (3)
Barrie wins series 3-0
Game 1: Barrie 8, London 2
Game 2: Barrie 8, London 6
Game 3: Barrie 8, London 2

Series A – Welland (1) vs. Kitchener (8)
Welland wins series 3-1
Game 1: Kitchener 3, Welland 2 (10 innings)
Game 2: Welland 14, Kitchener 1
Game 3: Welland 16, Kitchener 1
Game 4: Welland 11, Kitchener 5

Series B – Barrie (2) vs. Toronto (7)
Barrie wins series 3-0
Game 1: Barrie 14, Toronto 8
Game 2: Barrie 4, Toronto 3
Game 3: Barrie 18, Toronto 9

Series C – London (3) vs. Hamilton (6)
London wins series 3-1
Game 1: London 3, Hamilton 2
Game 2: Hamilton 16, London 2
Game 3: London 10, Hamilton 9
Game 4: London 4, Hamilton 1

Series D – Guelph (4) vs. Chatham-Kent (5)
Guelph wins series 3-0
Game 1: Guelph 14, Chatham 2
Game 2: Guelph 7, Chatham 5
Game 3: Guelph 14, Chatham 0
* If necessary

*************************