Another Walk off for the Majors

Written by Dan Haugh / Photo by Matt Hiscox 

On a Sunday afternoon when the heat at Labatt Memorial Park was insane, the London Majors used an equally insane way to walk off the Brantford Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning to close out a 7-6 come-from-behind win

The Majors were out hit by the Red Sox 12 to 8, but were able to take the lead at 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning on a two-out solo blast down the left field line by catcher Eduardo De Oleo that stayed just inside the foul pole for his fifth big fly in this the 107th season of the Intercounty Baseball League.

The top of the ninth inning saw a lead change on another two-out home run, but this time it was off the bat of Brantford infielder Max Schmarder with Andrew Savage on base, making the score 6-5 heading to the bottom of the ninth. London was down to their last out when, with Dre Amaral on base, Toby Simmons drove a pitch to the base of the centre field fence. With his lightning-fast speed,d Simmons turned the hit into a triple which scored Amaral. The Brantford throw to third base ended up in the London dugout, and Toby Simmons became the hero of the day as he was able to stroll home with the walk-off winning run. 

As has been a regular occurrence in recent games, the top of the Majors' batting order was very productive, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. A Tucker Zdunich sacrifice fly scored lead-off hitter Toby Simmons, who had reached base on a walk. The second run of the game came when Francisco Fajardo was driven home on a Byron Reichstein two-out single. Simmons and Reichstein had two hits each, while Francisco Fajardo, Charlie Bowman, and Ken Sugi each had a hit to go along with Eduard De Oleo's home run; the Majors had 8 total hits. 

London starter Travis Keys turned in another gutsy performance over six innings, allowing only two runs on nine hits. Keys only recorded one strikeout, but it was a huge one when he struck out Matt Torresan in the top of the sixth inning to strand two Brantford baserunners and shut down that potential rally. Nate Bennett and Jaryd Lund followed Keys on the mound before workhorse Skylar Janisse finished up the last two innings. Janisse, who has pitched in 11 of London's 17 games, picked up his fifth win of the season. Janisse leads the Intercounty Baseball League in both appearances and wins. 

The Majors are now 12-5 and have won two games in a row, and are a half game behind first place Welland Jackfish, who have lost their last two games. It was the hottest day of 2025 in London, Ontario; the best adjective to describe the heat may be fierce. It looks like there could be more hot weather in store when the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers come to Labatt Park Friday June 27th. Game time is 7:35 P.M.