Lions, Spartans and Royals post opening-day victories

GUELPH – Two-time defending champion St. James Lions opened the District 10 baseball season Tuesday by squeezing out a slim win over the Bishop Macdonell Celtics at Pearson Park.

The Lions scored the lone run of the game to edge the Celtics 1-0 in the third game of the opening-day tripleheader.

The other games saw the Centennial Spartans defeat the Lourdes Crusaders 6-4 in the tripleheader opener while the Ross Royals mercied the Guelph CVI Green Gaels 13-3.

Centennial rallied for its win in the see-saw match. The Spartans scored two runs in the sixth inning of the seven-inning game to grab the win. They had pulled even with a single run in the fifth.

Lourdes had shot ahead first with a single run in the first inning before Centennial scored two runs in the third and one in the top of the fourth to go ahead. However, the Crusaders shot ahead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth.

Ross scored runs in each of the first three innings to grab control of the middle game of the tripleheader. The Royals struck for two runs in the first inning, six in the second and three in the third before the Gaels scored their three runs in the fourth. The Royals put an end to the game with two runs in the fifth.

League play is to resume with a tripleheader Thursday at Pearson Park.

• Guelph Sports Journal