Hilderbrandt, Smibert lead Jackfish past Red Sox

Photo by Crystal Young

BRANTFORD – Matt Hilderbrandt and James Smibert both homered and drove in four runs to lead the first-place Welland Jackfish to a 17-5 win Wednesday night in Brantford.  

Hilderbrandt finished with three hits, as did Sam Cawker, who drove in a run and scored three times. Gianfranco Morello had two hits and four runs, Justin Gideon drove in two and scored twice, Brandon Nicholson went 2-for-5 with three RBI and three runs and Matteo Porcellato had a pair of RBI and scored once.

Brandon Underhill (2-0) tossed seven innings for the win. The Jackfish righty struck out four and didn’t issue a walk.

Welland (24-5) leads London by 1.5 games. 

For Brantford (2-29), which sits last in the IBL, Brodie Mackay went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Liam Sutherland had two hits, an RBI and a run, while Jamiel Orozco and Lucas Bateman each drove in a run.

Sean Hood-Tidman (0-4) took the loss, allowing nine runs on five hits over 2.2 innings. He walked four and struck out one.