Hauck Picks up 4th Win with 8-5 Victory Over Guelph

Christian Hauck continued his impressive start to the season as he improved to 4-0 with a league leading 2.85 ERA after earning the win against Guelph in a 6 inning outing. Hauck was able to keep the Guelph bats off balance as he only allowed 5 hits and 2 runs as the Panthers went onto record a 8-5 victory.

With the victory, the team recorded its 10th win of the season and sits 3 games above .500.

The Panthers came out of the gates flying as the first 3 batters of the game reached base thanks to a hit by pitch, single, and walk before Raul Gonzalez and Elliot Curtis each recorded an RBI sac fly to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, it was newcomer, Marcelle Lacasse who delivered a 2 RBI single to extend the Panthers lead to 4.

After throwing 5 scoreless innings to begin the game, the Royals finally got to Hauck in the 6th, scoring 2 runs and cutting the lead in half. However, it was the Panthers who would go onto win the inning, as they answered back with 4 runs of their own via a Raul Gonzalez sac fly, an Elliot Curtis RBI single and a Stephen Whalen 2 RBI single.

With an 8-2 lead in the 8th, the Royals rallied back to record 3 runs and bring the tying run to the plate but right handed reliever, Jordan Bahnuk, was able to come out of the bullpen and successfully work out of the jam to maintain the Panthers’ 3 run lead. He would go onto retire the side in the 9th to close out the victory and record the first save his IBL career. He retired all 4 batters he faced and struck out 1.

Offensively, Elliot Curtis and Raul Gonzalez led the way with 2 hits and 2 RBI each. Stephen Whalen and Marcelle Lacasse also had a hit and a pair of RBI in the contest.

Jett Jarvis chipped in 2 hits as well as strong defensive play in right field while Liam Wilson was walked for a career high 4 times in the contest. Blake Jacklin also recorded a hit and was hit by pitch twice.

Looking Ahead

The Panthers will play 3 games in this upcoming week, all on the road. 

Game one will see the Panthers go to head to head with the league leading Welland Jackfish on the road on Thursday. The Panthers won the first meeting between the teams 14-6 but dropped the last contest by a score of 8-5.

Following that game, the Panthers visit Brantford for a Canada Day matchup and finish the week in Barrie on Sunday.

The next home game for the Panthers is scheduled on Thursday July 6th vs the Toronto Maple Leafs.