Majors get big win vs Jackfish

Written by Dan Haugh/ Photo by Matt Hiscox

There are no longer any undefeated teams in the Intercounty Baseball League. The London Majors took care of that by handing the Welland Jackfish their first defeat of the 2025 campaign by a score of 9-7 in Welland on Saturday evening. 

The win was powered by a six-run fifth inning that saw London send 11 men to the plate and send Welland starting pitcher Ben Abram to an early shower. London field manager Roop Chanderdat took the time to comment on Saturday's win. "It was a big win for us. Especially since Welland was undefeated. We got contributions from a lot of players. Our top four hitters, Simmons, Fajardo, Zdunich and De Oleo had a total of eight hits, which included two home runs and six RBI."

The home run power that was missing on Friday against Barrie was provided by newcomer Tucker Zdunich and all-star catcher Eduardo De Oleo with one each. In total, the Majors had 14 hits. Toby Simmons, Tucker Zdunich, Francisco Fajardo, Eduardo De Oleo and Brad Verhoeven had two hits each, while Byron Reichstein, Josh Niles, Adrian Harrison, and Ken Sugi added one hit each. 

London Starter Travis Keys picked up his second win of the 2025 season going six innings and allowing only three runs on only six hits with two strikeouts, Keys was relieved by Jonathan Henry, Jaryd Lund, Nate Bennett, Colby Ring, and SkylarJanisse who shut down the Jackfish in the ninth inning to grab his third save of the young season.  ̈ Travis Keys gave us another gusty start. ̈ said field manager Chanderdat.  ̈He has been a warrior on the road for us, first in Barrie and now in Welland. Colby Ring continues to be effective in his six appearances, and Skylar Janisse is a bulldog." Janisse has seen playing time in eight of London ́s 11 games. The Majors now have a win-loss record of 7-4, good for third place in the IBL standings. 

Next action for the Majors will be Sunday afternoon when they travel to Arnold Anderson Stadium in Brantford to take on the last-place Red Sox. Next weekend will see two home games. The Kitchener Panthers will provide the opposition on Friday night at 7:35 p.m., while the Hamilton Cardinals will make their first visit to Labatt Park in 2025 on Sunday at 1:05 p.m for the 14th annual Pack the Park presented by Foxwood Homes. Tickets are available online.