Jackfish start season winless in afternoon games
Sunday was another one of those days for the Welland Jackfish, just like every other day game they have played so far early in the 2021 Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) season.
While 2-0 when they’re playing under the lights, the Jackfish remain winless in afternoon games. An 18-7 loss to the Kitchener Panthers on Sunday dropped their record in matinees to 0-3 and 2-3 overall.
Manager Brian Essery doesn’t read anything into this nightand-day difference in his team’s record.
“It comes down to us being prepared to play from the first pitch,” he said. “Twoand-three is not ideal — it’s not the way we wanted to start — but we’re only five games in.
“We’re struggling on the mound right now and defensively.”
Only nine of Kitchener’s runs were earned as the Jackfish committed four errors in the field.
“We kicked the ball around in the first inning,” Essery said. “We made a couple of errors in the first inning that cost us some runs, but, at the end of the day, we have to battle and overcome that.”
Kitchener, which was playing its home opener and in front of fans at Jack Couch Park the first time in nearly two years, jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Jackfish got on the scoreboard with two runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Welland added three runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth, while the Panthers added to their lead with two runs in the home half of the sixth and seventh innings.
“That’s really tough on our guys to come back,” Essery said. “They did battle, we put seven on the board anyway, and seven should be enough to win a baseball game, I don’t care what level you’re at. We’re hoping that once we get our pitching sorted out and our defence sorted out, that we’ll put enough runs on the board to be successful moving forward.”
IBL teams have until the middle of August to finalize rosters for a championship run. Between now and then, the Jackfish remain a work in progress.
“We are still trying guys out and seeing where they fit in our
plans for the season. There’s still a lot of baseball left,” Essery said. “We’re not worried at this point. We are continuing to tinker with our roster, that’s for sure.”
The ongoing closure of the Canada-u. S. border continues to hamper the team’s efforts to fill out the lineup it wants on the field.
“We’re waiting on the border regulations to see if we can get some more players across,” Essery said. “That’s what’s holding us back a little bit right now, especially with some of our pitching.”
Four new players are coming in this weekend, including three who have just been released by pro teams south of the border. The additions — two pitchers, two position players — are expected to accompany the Jackfish Friday night when they visit the London Majors.
“They’re actually dual citizens, so they’ll be fine. They will be able to cross,” Essery said.
Jackfish starter Eric Hegadoren allowed seven runs, three of them earned, on two hits and three walks over 11/3 innings to fall to 0-2.
Dane Tofteland, 3-for-4, including his second home run of the year; and Tony Kwon, 2for-4, had multiple-hit games for Welland.
Four games are on tap for the Jackfish beginning Thursday when they host Kitchener in a 7:30 p.m. first pitch at Welland Stadium. After visiting London the following night, they will play the Toronto Maple Leafs in a weekend home-and-home series: Saturday, 1:05 p.m., Welland Stadium; Sunday, Dominico Field at Christie Pits, 2 p.m.