Welland Jackfish jumped out to an early 14-0 lead on their way to a 15-4 victory over the Brantford Red Sox in Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) action on Sunday, June 4, 2023.
Welland got off to a quick start against Red Sox starter Jeremias Sucre , capitalizing on back-to-back doubles and a single to take a 2-0 lead. Sucre settled down after the rocky start, getting three of the next four batters out as he kept the game in reach. In the bottom of the first, the Sox recorded two singles from 3B Matthew Fabian and C Jeremie Veilleux but couldn’t capitalize.
The Jackfish continued their strong hitting in the top of the second, recording two more doubles and a single to open up a 4-0 lead while the Red Sox went down easily in the bottom half of the inning.
Sucre struck out Jackfish players Ethan Hunt and Chris Robinson for two quick outs to start the top of the third inning before the wheels fell off as Welland took advantage of an error and wild pitch before collected three consecutive hits to knock Sucre out of the game.
The Jackfish scored seven more runs to open up an 11-0 lead. Once again, the Red Sox went down in order in the bottom half of the inning.
Welland continued to pour it on offensively in the top of the fourth, scoring three more runs to open up a 14-0 lead. Brantford’s bats came around in the bottom of the fourth when Veilleux led off the inning with a double, followed by an RBI single from Christian Kuzemka, giving the Red Sox their first run of the game.
The Jackfish were held off the scoreboard for the next few innings as Red Sox RP Danny Howat threw four innings of scoreless relief, only allowing two hits and striking out seven. Offensively, the Red Sox scored two more runs in the fifth and one more in the eighth but fell by a final score of 15-4.
With the loss, the Red Sox dropped to 1-8 on the season.
