Cardinals Fall To Welland Friday Night

HAMILTON — The Welland Jackfish used a massive 10-run fifth inning to blow open a tight game and cruise to a 14-8 win over the Hamilton Cardinals on Friday night at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium in Intercounty Baseball League action.

In a contest that featured 28 total hits, the Jackfish pounded out 17 of them and capitalized on three Hamilton errors to secure their 13th win of the season.

The turning point came in the top of the fifth when Welland sent 15 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs on seven hits.

Matteo Porcellato led the balanced attack when he pounded a two-run double.

Porcellato led the offensive charge for Welland, going 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles, two RBI and a run scored, raising his season average to an impressive .404. Shortstop Jonah Weisner also had a strong night at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, while Austin Gomm and Greyson Barrett each collected three hits in the win.

On the mound, Ben Abram delivered a steady performance for the Jackfish, striking out nine over six innings while allowing just two runs on six hits to pick up his third win of the season.

Tyler Duncan and Josh Williams hit homers for the Cardinals.

Cardinals starter Enrique Saldana was tagged with the loss, giving up seven runs — six earned — on seven hits over four innings.

The victory keeps the Jackfish firmly in the top tier of the IBL standings as they improve to 13-5, while Hamilton falls back to the .500 mark at 9-9.

The Jackfish will head home to Welland Stadium for a Saturday night matchup against the London Majors at 6:05pm, while the Cardinals will try to regroup when they host the Barrie Baycats Sunday at 2:05pm.