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CARDINALS BLANKED BY KITCHENER

Just two days after the Cardinals and Panthers dueled in a slugfest, they returned to the field on Tuesday night in IBL action with their bats quieter than on Sunday as Kitchener shutout the Cardinals 7-0. With the win, the Panthers take a three-game to one lead in the best of seven quarter final series. TJ Baker and Connor Bowie each had doubles for the home side while Josh Garton went two-for-three with three runs batted in.

The Panthers looked to take the lead in the top of the first when they loaded up the bases with a single and two walks but a fly ball to center field ended the inning with all three runners left on base. In the second, Hamilton’s Baker led off the inning with a double then stole third but a couple of strike outs ended the threat.

It wasn’t until the third inning that Kitchener would open the scoring when Jeff Pietraszko was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the eventual game winning run. The Panthers doubled their lead in the fourth when Mike Andrulis, who opened the inning with a walk, scored on a sacrifice fly by Josh Garton.

The Cardinals thought they had got on the board in the bottom half of the fifth when Chris Beer singled to right field. Marcus Dicenzo looked to have score on the play but the home plate umpire had a different view of the play and called the third out of the inning.

Kitchener went on to score a run in the seventh, three in the eighth and one in the ninth to take the game 7-0.

For the Cardinals, Jackson Jones took the loss, going five innings, allowing two runs on one hit, walking six batters, hitting three others while striking out one. Benson Merritt relieved Jones to start the sixth and went two innings, allowing a run on two hits and striking out one batter. Nick Jambrosic came in to pitch the eighth, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk. Ben Reid would pitch the final inning, allowing a run on one hit, walking two and striking out one.

Jasvir Rakkar would go the distance for the Panthers, allowing four hits and walking two batters without giving up a run while striking out 13.

Hamilton will look to stay alive on Thursday night when they head to Jack Couch Park in Kitchener for game five of the best of seven IBL quarter finals series. Game time is 7:30 PM.

Winning Pitcher: Jasvir Rakkar (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Jackson Jones (0-2)

Kitchener Hitters
Josh Garton – 2 for 3 (Single, Solo Home Run, 2 Sacrifice Flies, Run, 3 RBIs)
Sean Reilly – 1 for 2 (Single, 2 Walks, Hit by Pitch, Run, RBI)
Justin Interisano – 1 for 2 (Single, 2 Walks, Hit by Pitch, Strikeout, Run)

Hamilton Hitters
Connor Bowie – 1 for 4 (Double)
TJ Baker – 1 for 4 (Double, 2 Strikeouts)
Jake Foden – 1 for 4 (Single, 2 Strikeouts)
Chris Beer – 1 for 4 (Single, 2 Strikeouts)

Single game tickets for all Hamilton Cardinals home games are available at the Bernie Arbour Stadium Box Office on game day.

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