Jackfish blank Cardinals to maintain first place in IBL

By ROD MAWHOOD • Photo by Brandon Taylor

The Welland Jackfish road dominance continued Sunday in Hamilton.

The Jackfish blanked the Cardinals 4-0 as Euclides Leyer and fellow Dominican hurler Deivy Mendez combined for the shutout.

Leyer, used primarily out of the bullpen this season, struck out nine over seven stellar innings, while Mendez shut the door the rest of the way.

"We played a great game, clean defensively and great pitching from Leyer and Mendez," Welland Manager Brian Essery said.

"Having Leyer start again was something we've talked about, and it sure did work out today. He's been dominant all season, and we'll see where we're at with our starters and bullpen shortly.

The Jackfish improved to (15-2) on the road, but are just (9-8) at home.

"It's really strange, we've had our best games this season on the road and unfortunately we've struggled at home.. I'm confident we'll flip that script down the stretch and into the playoffs," explained Essery.

"We have eight games remaining to keep pushing for first place and be on a roll going into the playoffs."

Welland begins a home and home series against the Baycats Thursday in Barrie, with the same two teams meeting again Saturday in the Rose City.

The Jackfish lead both the Baycats and London Majors by two and a half games for first place in the nine-team Intercounty Baseball League. 

Saturday's game is a Beach Party at The Pond brought to you by CAA Niagara.

Tickets are on sale now at wellandjackfish.com or by calling the box office at 905-735-9834