Late rally falls short for Jackfish in latest loss

By ROD MAWHOOD • Photo by Brandon Taylor

The Welland Jackfish made things interesting late, but in the end dropped their third straight game, 10-7 was the final to the Barrie Baycats who won their ninth straight contest.

Jackfish starter Jake Harford had a rare off-night not making it out of the second inning after allowing four runs.

"Real tough start for Jake, but he'll bounce back," Welland skipper Brian Essery said. "We're not worried."

Barrie would open leads of 5-1 after three innings, and 10-2 in the eighth before Welland rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and two more in the ninth.

Both Ethan Hunt and McCoy Pearce, who came off the bench, homered for the home side, while Sam Cawker had three hits.

After the final out of the game the benches cleared and some terse words were exchanged, but thankfully nothing came of it. 

The incident stemmed from Welland reliever Deivy Mendez accidentally hitting a Barrie batter with a pitch in the top half of the ninth inning.

Essery feels the incident could bring his team closer as they battle through a tough stretch.

"Ya, we showed some fire," explained Essery. "Maybe that's what we need to get back on track."

Welland visits Guelph Tuesday night before hosting Brantford Thursday evening. It's CAA Niagara Pack The Park Night. A limited number of grass tickets remain. 

Visit wellandjackfish.com for more information.