Jackfish Rally From Five Down to Beat Royals 10–6

By Rod Mawhood

It was all about the "E's" Thursday night at The Pond.

Eric Pettipiece, Erik Johnson, and Ethan Mann powered the Welland Jackfish to a thrilling 10–6 comeback victory over the Guelph Royals in front of another sellout crowd.

The win improved the Jackfish to 5–0 against Guelph this season.

After falling behind 5–0 early, Welland turned the game around thanks to dominant relief pitching and timely hitting.

Pettipiece entered in the second inning for starter Ben Abram and settled things down, striking out five batters to keep the Jackfish within striking distance.

The comeback began in the third inning when Welland scored three runs. Mann delivered the biggest blow, launching a two-run inside-the-park home run that ignited both the dugout and the sold-out crowd.

Johnson took over from there and was simply unhittable. The right-hander tossed four hitless innings, striking out nine batters, including six consecutive Royals at one point, to slam the door on Guelph.

"That was a great comeback win for us," said Jackfish Manager Brian Essery. "Going down 5–0 early and battling back to win says a lot about our group. Pettipiece gave us a chance and kept us in it, and Johnson was absolutely lights out to finish it. Ethan's inside-the-park home run sparked our team and completely flipped the momentum. It was a great win against a good team."

With the victory, the Jackfish improved to 19–10 on the season, while the Royals dropped to 16–12.

Welland continues its road trip Friday night in Toronto before returning to The Pond on Saturday to host Hamilton. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m., and tickets are on sale now.