Jackfish Finally Solve Baycats, Move Into First-Place Tie

By Rod Mawhood

The Welland Jackfish finally got the monkey off their backs Thursday night.

After dropping their first four meetings against the Barrie Baycats this season, the Jackfish broke through with a convincing 7-3 victory at Welland Stadium, improving to 25-11 on the year and pulling into a tie with the London Majors for first place in the IBL standings.

"It was nice to finally finish one out against them this year," said Jackfish manager Brian Essery.

Right-hander Teodoro Ortega earned the win after grinding through five innings, while the bullpen took care of the rest. Eric Pettipiece and Erik Johnson combined to strike out seven batters over the final four innings to secure the victory.

At the plate, Daiki Abe led the offensive charge, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including a clutch two-out hit that helped Welland create some much-needed breathing room.

"Teo battled through five, and our bullpen of the two Erics finished it off for us," Essery said. "Abe's big two-out hit to drive in two runs was huge."

The Jackfish hit the road for a pair of key divisional matchups this weekend, visiting the London Majors on Friday before taking on the Guelph Royals on Saturday.

Welland returns to The Pond next Thursday when they host the Brantford Red Sox. Tickets are available now.