Cardinals late inning blast sinks Jackfish
HAMILTON – Jon Dziomba's home run in the bottom of the 11th gave the Hamilton Cardinals a 4-3 win over the Welland Jackfish Friday night at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium.
The solo blast was Dziomba's first of the season and his second hit of the night. Connor Bowie added a two-run shot to tie the game in the eighth. Justin Gideon singled three times, Laine Renaud had a pair of hits, and Connor Patterson went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Kelvin Pichardo (4-1) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief. He allowed two hits and walked one with four strikeouts. Starter Ben Braun went 6.2 innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Bryce O'Farrell had Welland's lone RBI. Brendon Dadson had two hits and a run, and Caleb Feuerstake singled twice. DeAndre Asbury-Heath and Wilson Soriano each stole two bases as the Jackfish swiped nine bags in total.
Casey Bouillere-Howard (0-4) took the loss after giving up the home run in two-thirds of an inning. He struck out one. Chris Boatto went the first 10 innings, allowing three runs on 11 hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
Hamilton improved to 16-13, and Welland dropped to 14-13.