How sweep it is! Panthers down Majors in double dip
KITCHENER - Two wins, two different ways.
The Kitchener Panthers took it to the London Majors in a doubleheader Sunday afternoon, winning 14-4 in Game 1, the resumption of the rained out contest from June 6 and 6-2 in a seven-inning affair shortly after.
The Panthers have now won five straight games, and have pushed up to sixth in the IBL with a 9-14 record. Going into Thursday, they were sitting dead last in the league.
Sunday's wins came from clutch hitting from some likely and unlikely sources.
GAME 1
The Panthers went in with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, and tore the cover off the baseball late.
Nick Parsons hit a three-run blast as part of a five-run fifth inning to make it 6-0 at that point. Jett Jarvis crossed the plate that inning for IBL run number 100.
Parsons' home run puts him at six on the year, five since June 23. His single in the second game puts his hit streak at 11 games and counting.
Kitchener piled it on in the eighth, sending nine to the plate and scored six runs, including the first IBL grand slam from junior call up Kale Murray.
The six runs off Jaryd Lund were all unearned, as the Majors had major trouble on defense, tagged with three errors in the inning and five runs throughout the game.
Yunior Ibarra had three singles in the win. His catching counterpart, Eduardo de Oleo, also had three singles.
On the mound, the pair of pitchers acquired in the Andy Leader deal made their mark.
Danny Garcia went four innings and collected the win, giving up two runs on seven hits. He struck out seven. Jorge de la Cruz wrapped up the final two innings, giving up a two-run home run from Kaiden Cardoso but that was all.
Garcia's lone runs came on a long ball from Cleveland Brownlee.
Victor Payano, who started the game June 6, is tagged with the loss after going the two innings just over a month ago.
GAME 2
Half an hour after the Panthers won their fourth straight, they kept things rolling early.
Raul Gonzalez, who came out of Game 1 late with what looked to be some discomfort, didn't look uncomfortable at all in Game 2. The lead off hitter was a triple shy of the cycle in a close Panthers win.
Gonzalez went three-for-four with a pair of RBI and his 20th career IBL home run as part of a four-run sixth.
He has hits in six straight, including two home runs in his last three and 11 RBI in his last five.
It was 2-1 Kitchener after the second, but ace Jose Arias went into shutdown mode for London after that.
He gave up just two hits in the next three innings, en route to a complete game loss in a game he struck out seven.
But after 79 pitches, he ran into trouble by allowing the first two batters of the sixth to reach. With runners on second and third and the game tied at two, Jett Jarvis was called upon as a pinch hitter.
He hit a two-run single to give the Panthers the lead, and would later be driven home by a Gonzalez homer to dead centre.
Jose Vasquez shut the door after that, giving up a run on two hits and struck out three to collect the win.
Cam Johnson, making his first career IBL start, went three innings of one run ball for Kitchener. The lefty gave up two hits but struck out five.
NEXT UP
The Panthers hit the road for a pair, starting in Barrie on Thursday at 7:35 p.m. Then, it's off to Hamilton Friday night.
The busy week will then bring the Panthers home Sunday at 2 p.m. against the Baycats, the start of a stretch of three home games in five days for Kitchener.
GAME 1 BOXSCORE
GAME 2 BOXSCORE
GAME REPLAYS
POSTGAME ANALYSIS
KALE MURRAY GRAND SLAM ALERT! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/uB6RH9Vw5j
— Kitchener Panthers (@IBL_Panthers) July 7, 2024
Stay 🔥🔥 @NickParsons76! @USFBaseballCougpic.twitter.com/pGLZLChvIK
— Kitchener Panthers (@IBL_Panthers) July 7, 2024
RAUL GONZALEZ NO DOUBTER 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/TbkT9X2KW7
— Kitchener Panthers (@IBL_Panthers) July 8, 2024