Boon, Reyes Cruz, Starling and Byron lead the team to a 2-1 series lead

It was a beautiful down the 401 in Kitchener for the Panthers and Majors to continue their first-round matchup. Both teams were looking for two victories in the doubleheader matchup as game 1 would be resumed before the originally scheduled game 3 would take place. With dominant pitching and batting, the Majors would take both. 

Owen Boon would continue game 1 after only throwing 30 pitches on Thursday before the rain fell. On Thursday, Starling gave the Majors an early 2-0 lead with a home run in the first inning. Tommy Reyes-Cruz would follow that with his own in the 3rd inning. It would be over 64 hours before the next swing run would be scored in the contest as Joseph would take the second pitch he would see over the same spot as he did on Thursday to increase the Majors lead to 5-1. Both Reyes-Cruz and Joseph would homer for the second time each on Sunday (Joseph’s 3rd, Reyes-Cruz's 2nd of the game) later in the contest to put the Majors on top 8-1 while the Dominican Republic native Joseph would have 6 RBIs in the box score. Owen Boon would pitch all 9 innings over the 2 days striking out 10 while only allowing 1 run in the 34 batters he faced. 

Game 2 followed 30 minutes after the completion of game 1 with the Majors ace back on the hill following only 81 pitches in the first part of the day. This time it would be Byron Reichstein and Jordan Schulefand doing the damage for the Majors. Reichstein would homer while Schulefand walked with the bases loaded to give the team a 2-0 lead. Reyes Cruz’s single along with an error in left field would score Charlie Bowman to give the majors a narrow 3-2 lead. A second home run by Reichstein would add another before Schulefand doubled off the wall to cap the scoring at 5 for the Majors. Boon would pitch 4 innings before turning it over to Skylar Jannisse and Wilbur Martinez would finish the game by going a combined 5 innings, 1 strikeout and 2 runs charged to Skylar. 

Between the two games a few performances stood out for the team. Owen Boon pitched 9 innings striking out 13 while Starling Joseph, Byron Reichstein and Tommy Reyes Cruz combined for 7 home runs. The Majors also had 21 hits offensively and 14 strikeouts on the pitching side. 

Game 4 will take place on Tuesday night at Labatt Park with the Panthers coming in on the brink of elimination, looking to tie the series at 2. Tickets for the game can be purchased on the team store www.majorsstore,com

The London Majors are a member of Canada’s top baseball league, the Intercounty Baseball League. In 2021 the London Majors won the IBL Jack & Lynn Dominico Trophy. The 100-year old summer league is one of the oldest baseball leagues in the world. The league was established in 1919, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. For more information, visit www.londonmajors.com or follow the Majors on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Threads, Twitter and TikTok at @Londonmajors