Guelph Royals continue to look for first CBL victory

The Guelph Royals are likely wishing for the good old days when the Canadian Baseball League was known as the Intercounty Baseball League.

The Royals are the lone team not to have registered a victory in the league’s first season using the CBL moniker.

Saturday, the Royals suffered their fifth setback as they were edged 10-8 by the Kitchener Panthers at Hastings Stadium. The Panthers stretched a single-run lead to a seven-run advantage with six runs in the sixth inning before the Royals closed the gap to the final two-run margin with two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth.

It was the third time the Royals had surrendered at least 10 runs in a game.

Kitchener collected its runs on 16 hits while the hosts had seven hits. The Panthers committed three errors, the Royals none.

Marcos Castillo had two singles and five RBIs for Guelph while Drew Donaldson also had two singles. Ashton Patterson had a double while Ryan Dos Santos and Matthew Ward each had a single.

Yosvani Penalver went 4-for-4 for Kitchener with a double and three singles while Malik Williams had a double and two singles and Petey Kiefer had three singles. Charlie Towers had a triple and a single, Rafael Gross had a triple, Zane Skansi had a double and Mateo Zeppieri and Yunior Ibarra each hit a single.

Alfred Vega took the loss for the Royals as he gave up four earned runs off nine hits and five walks in five innings. Marek Deska yielded six earned runs off six hits and a walk in three innings and Andrew Case kept Kitchener scoreless in the ninth, but surrendered a hit. Vega had five strikeouts while Deska had three and Case had two.

Samuel Quintana collected the win for Kitchener. He gave up three earned runs off four hits and two walks in four innings. Brett Reid yielded two runs, one earned, off a hit in three innings while Cory Lawson surrendered three earned runs off two hits and three walks in 2/3 of an inning. Jacob Liberta got a save as he kept the Royals scoreless and hitless in 1 1/3 innings. Quintana had three strikeouts, Reid two and Liberta one.

Guelph pitchers threw 177 pitches, 109 for strikes, while Kitchener hurlers tossed 175 pitches, 104 for strikes.

The Royals are to play the London Majors at London’s Labatt Park Sunday at 4:05 p.m. and host the Hamilton Cardinals Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at Hastings Stadium.

CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE

Standings (W-L)

Barrie Baycats 5-2

London Majors 5-2

Welland Jackfish 4-2

Kitchener Panthers 5-3

Hamilton Cardinals 3-2

Chatham-Kent Barnstormers 2-3

Brantford Red Sox 1-3

Toronto Maple Leafs 1-4

Guelph Royals 0-5

• Guelph Sports Journal