Majors make it 2 of 3 over the weekend

Written by Dan Haugh/Photo by Charles Warburton(CWPhotos)

The London Majors used a combination of strong pitching and timely hitting with some power mixed in to defeat the Brantford Red Sox 6-2 at Arnold Anderson Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The win was the Majors' second straight, and it finds them all alone in second place with an 8-4 record, 1 1⁄2 games behind the league-leading Welland Jackfish, whom London had beaten on the road in Welland on Saturday night.

London starting pitcher Jose Arias turned in what was likely his best start of the season as he went seven strong scoreless innings on the mound. Arias gave up just six Red Sox hits and struck out two batters before he handed the ball over to Ricardo Alvarez De Lugo and, eventually, Nate Bennett, who was called upon to get the final out of the game to earn his first save of the 2025 season.

London scored single runs in the first and third innings, followed by a three-run rally in the fourth inning and another single run in the eighth. The fourth inning rally saw Josh Niles lead off the inning with a ground rule double that bounced over the left field fence. Then, after two groundouts, the London offence came alive with back-to-back homers from Ken Sugi, who drove a no-doubter, his first of the 2025 campaign, well over the right field fence at Arnold Anderson Stadium. Toby Simmons then blasted the first pitch he saw over the right centre field fence for his second homer of the season, putting London out in front 5-0 after four innings.

Tucker Zdunich had three singles with an RBI and a run scored, Toby Simmons and Eduardo De Oleo had two hits each. Dre Amaral, Josh Niles, Adrian Harrison, and Ken Sugi collected one hit each to top off the London hit total at 11 for the afternoon. There will be two home games next weekend. Friday night, the Kitchener Panthers will come to Labatt Memorial Park for a 7:35 first pitch. The highlight of Father ́s Day weekend, as it is every year, will be the Annual Pack The Park Event.