Majors fall in Kitchener

Written by Dan Haugh / Photo by CW Photos

For the third straight game, the London Majors jumped out to an early first-inning lead, but the Kitchener Panthers prevailed and came away with their third straight win by a score of 7-4 at Jack Couch Park in Kitchener on Thursday night. 

The top of the first inning started with back-to-back singles by Maikol Escotto and Roberto Caro. Next batter was Trent Lenihan, who hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Escotto and giving London a 1-0 lead after one inning. Kitchener tied the score in the bottom of the second inning on a Mark Williams RBI single that scored Yosuke Fujie, who had reached base on a line-drive double to left field. 

The Majors took back the lead in the top of the third inning. Just as they had done in the first inning, Maikol Escotto and Roberto Caro had back-to-back hits. Escotto singled to centre field and scored on Caro's RBI double to the right field corner. London stretched their lead to 3-1 as Tucker Zdunich drove the first pitch of the fourth inning over the centre field fence at Jack Couch Park 

Kitchener answered with runs in each of the next four innings to take a 7-3 lead after seven innings. London's final run came when Eduardo DeOleo led off the top of the eighth inning with a double and was eventually driven in by a Tucker Zdunich RBI single. London's four runs came on a total of nine hits and one Kitchener error. Maikol Rscotto led the way with four hits in five at-bats. Tucker Zdunich and Roberto Caro had two hits each, while Eduardo De Ole rounded out the hit total with a double. 

Left-hander Victor Payano started on the mound for London. He allowed five runs on nine hits with six strikeouts. Caleb Cassie and Alex Springer followed Payano in relief. 

The London Majors' 2026 record stands at two wins and one loss as they get right back into action on Friday night, as the Guelph Royals visit Labatt Memorial Park.