Guelph Royals rally to top Kitchener Panthers

The Guelph Royals struck for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to claim a 7-6 victory over the Kitchener Panthers Saturday afternoon at Hastings Stadium.

Kitchener had taken the lead with three runs in the top of the seventh to break a 3-3 tie created when the Panthers scored three runs in the fifth inning. The hosts had built a three-run lead with single runs in the first, third and fourth innings.

In the bottom of the seventh, Antony Gilbert and Miguel Hiraldo hit back-to-back singles and Garrett Takamatsu was walked on four pitches to load the bases for the Royals. Victor Mascai singled to right to knock in one run while another came in as Matthew Ward flied out to centre field. Deivis Nadal singled to left to load the bases again and Andy Leaser singled to left to drive in two more runs.

The Royals finished with 11 hits, committed the game’s only error and left 12 on base while Kitchener had nine hits and stranded five.

Mascai hit a double and a single for the Royals, the double being Guelph’s lone extra-base hit of the game. Gilbert, Hiraldo and Leader each had two hits while Takamatsu, Nadal and Ashton Patterson had one apiece.

No Kitchener batter had more than one hit. Josh Williams clouted a homer while Charlie Towers had a double. Getting one single apiece were Mateo Zeppieri, Petey Kiefer, Yosvani Penalver, Malik Williams, Jamie Cabral, Zane Skansi and Yosuke Fujie.

The Royals used four pitchers in the game – Jacob Kush (6 innings), Nelson Mercado (1/3 of an inning), Andrew Case (1 2/3 innings) and Kevin Escorcia (1 inning). Kush yielded three earned runs off seven hits and a walk while Mercado gave up the other three runs, all earned, off three walks. Case (1-0) picked up the win as he held Kitchener to a single hit in his stint while Escorcia collected his first save of the season by holding the Panthers to one hit in the ninth. Kush had four strikeouts while Case had two and Mercado had one.

Kitchener also used four pitchers in the game – Owen MacNeil (4 innings), Ernesto Punales (2 1/3 innings), Brett Reid (2/3 of an inning) and Bawin Colon (1 inning). MacNeil yielded three runs, two earned, off six hits and four walks while Punales (0-1) took the loss by giving up four earned runs off five hits and two walks. Reid and Colon didn’t give up any runs or hits, but Reid walked two and Colon walked one. MacNeil struck out five while Punales had three strikeouts and Colon had two.

The Panthers did run on the Royals as Kitchener had 10 stolen bases in the game including four by Skansi. Gilbert had Guelph’s lone stolen base.

The win was the third in a row by the Royals and their sixth in seven games and allowed them to reach the .500 winning percentage mark after they’d started the season with five consecutive losses. They had been the last team in the nine-team league to record a victory in the league’s first under the Canadian Baseball League moniker.

Awful early in the season to be thinking of this, but the win allows the Royals to climb into a playoff position. Top five qualify for the playoffs with the fourth- and fifth-place teams meeting in a single-game elimination to earn the right to play the first-place team in a best-of-seven semifinal. The second- and third-place teams are to meet in the other best-of-seven semifinal. Semifinal winners are to clash in a best-of-seven championship series.

The Royals and Panthers are to meet again Sunday at Kitchener’s Jack Couch Park. Game time is 2:05 p.m.

The Royals are to host the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at Hastings Stadium.

CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE

Standings (W-L)

Barrie Baycats 10-3

London Majors 10-4

Hamilton Cardinals 7-4

Welland Jackfish 8-6

Guelph Royals 6-6

Chatham-Kent Barnstormers 5-8

Kitchener Panthers 5-9

Toronto Maple Leafs 3-8

Brantford Red Sox 2-8

• Guelph Sports Journal