Panthers drop low scoring affair
KITCHENER - Call it a missed opportunity.
The Kitchener Panthers, down by two, had the bases loaded with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth.
Former Panther Jorge De La Cruz came in, and other than a wild pitch to score a run, was able to limit the damage and close out a 4-3 win for the visiting Brantford Red Sox Thursday night.
Yosuke Fujie hit a two-run single in the fourth to give Kitchener a 2-0 lead.
But the Red Sox got it close, an RBI double from Christian Ortega made it 2-1.
In the seventh, Rene Tachioka hit a ball deep to right field.
It looked as if Yosvani Penalver made a catch at the wall, sacrificing his body. Turns out the ball was over the fence for a two-run home run, and Penalver was down for several minutes but would stay in the game.
Brantford added an insurance marker in the ninth.
Runta Osawa was consistent, nabbing three hits for Kitchener, who had trouble with the Brantford pitching staff.
Nicholai Arbach struck out eight in five innings of work. Colbey Klepper got the win, fanning five more in three innings and only gave up two hits.
Andy Vargas took the loss. He gave up three runs on six hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking three.
Kitchener heads out on the road for three games. Saturday in Chatham-Kent, Sunday in Brantford and Canada Day down Highway 7 in Guelph.
The next home game for the Panthers is Thursday, July 3 against the Barnstormers at 7:30 p.m.
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