Cardinals Comeback Falls Short
The Hamilton Cardinals lost 6-4 to the Guelph Royals (1-0) in their home opener on Sunday afternoon.
The Cardinals fell behind early and were down as much as six runs at one point. Hamilton clawed back in the bottom of the eighth and ninth, but ultimately came up short with the tying run at the plate.
Royals starting pitcher, Claudio Custodio, threw seven shutout innings, striking out 11 batters, giving up just one hit and was credited with the win.
Hamilton rallied as soon as Custodio left the ball game, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth. A Bryn Sanford single, some great base-running and a few wild pitches cut the Royals’ lead in half, 6-3 heading into the ninth.
Cards’ relief pitcher, Wes Markle, pitched a tidy top of the ninth including two strike outs.
In the bottom of the ninth, Laine Renaud singled, stole second and later scored on a Robin Fox-Pappas double to make it 6-4.
Outfielder Anthony Buonaiuto came in as a pinch hitter representing the tying run. Buonaiuto hit a high fly ball to the warning track in right field but it was caught to end the game.
The Cardinals stole five bases in the game between Luis Jean (2), Justin Gideon (2) and Laine Renaud (1).
Chris Lazar pitched five innings for the Cardinals, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out three.
Julian Russell also pitched one inning for Hamilton, tallying one strikeout and one hit against.
Royals centre fielder and former Toronto Blue Jay, Dalton Pompey was three for four on the day. Royals designated hitter, Sean Reilly was two for four with four RBI’s and a homer.
The Cardinals play their next game on Thursday, May 26th at 7:30 p.m. in Welland against the Jackfish.
Written by Jarrett Matthews
Photo by Art Ward