Brantford Red Sox Week 3 Wrap Up

tuesday May 30 - Brantford Red Sox 4 Guelph Royals 2

The Red Sox (0-5) kicked off a busy week visiting the Guelph Royals (1-4). Brantford, with the season not off to the start they had hoped for, made a few roster changes prior to the game. The shake-up may have inspired the Sox who came out swinging, scoring 3 runs in the top of the 1st. They had several opportunities to add to their lead but unfortunately could not, stranding the bases loaded on a couple of occasions. 

Starting pitcher Jeremias Sucre kept the 3 run lead secure, pitching 5 innings of shutout baseball. The Royals eventually got to Brantford reliever Cory Field in the 7th, scoring 2. Hayden Stam managed to pitch the Sox out of further trouble in the inning, getting 3 straight outs to shut down the Royals rally. Brantford held a slim 3-2 lead after 7 innings. 

After reliever Danny Howat shut down another Royals threat in the 8th, Brantford got some insurance in the 9th with Nick Burdett bringing in newcomer Matt Fabian. Howat pitched a scoreless 9th to earn the save and Brantford hung on for the 4-2 win, their first of the season!

Newly signed Chris Kuzemka led the way, going 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored. Kieran Bowles also had a pair of hits. Sucre earned the win, yielding 5 hits in 5 innings of work while striking out 3.

Thursday June 1 - Brantford Red Sox 7 Welland Jackfish 22

Brantford's week was made busier by the addition of Thursday night's game in Welland - a makeup date from their previous May 20th rainout. The Red Sox were coming off their first win of the season and looked to keep the momentum going. And things started off off promisingly, with Chris Kuzemka brining in Nick Burdett on a fielder's choice giving the Sox an early 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately for Brantford, starting pitcher Christian Herrera's ongoing implosion continued. After his previous start where he was pulled after allowing 4 runs on 7 batters faced, tonight Herrera coughed up another 4 runs on just 5 batters faced before being yanked. Danny Garcia came on in relief on short notice but didn't fare any better, surrendering another half-dozen runs before finally recording 3 outs. The Red Sox had dug themselves quite a hole, trailing 10-1 after 1 inning. 

Welland must not have had much confidence that their 9 run lead would hold, as they continued to bunt and steal bases. But their lead was indeed safe. Brantford managed to put together a respectable handful of runs while Welland took the opportunity to pad their stats, hanging on for the 22-7 win. Matt Fabian, Jeremie Veilleux, and Spencer Jamieson each had a pair of hits for the Sox. 

Friday June 2 - Brantford Red Sox 2 London Majors 15

The Red Sox returned to London on Friday for their 3rd meeting with the Majors in the past 2 weeks. With London winning the first pair of games by a combined score of 24-5, the Red Sox had their work cut out for them in Friday's game. 

Game 3 in the trilogy went pretty much they way you'd expect it to. Brantford kept things close until the middle of the 4th inning where it was tied 2-2, but then the Majors stepped on the gas. London would score 5 in the top of the inning, and add a few more after that en route to a 15-2 win. Matt Fabian and Chris Kuzemka each had a pair of hits for Brantford. 

Brantford now mercifully gets a break from London until August, where they will play another trio of games in a short span. 

Sunday June 3 - Welland Jackfish 15 Brantford Red Sox 4

Brantford finally returned home to Arnold Anderson Stadium on Sunday for their first day game of the season. The Red Sox hoped to round out the week on a positive note. Starting pitcher Jeremias Sucre led Brantford to their first win of the season earlier in the week in Guelph, and looked to duplicate the feat this time in front of a hometown crowd.

Welland got to Sucre right off the bat, with 2 doubles and a single on the first 6 pitches they saw,  taking an early 2-0 lead. They struck again with another pair of runs in the 2nd. Brantford failed to respond again, leaving the door open for Welland to put things away in the 3rd. Sucre made an early exit from the game after surrendering more runs, and reliever Hayden Stam also didn't survive the inning. When the Red Sox finally escaped the 3rd they trailed 11-0. 

Brantford has yet to come back from behind this season, and today would be no different. The Sox managed to scatter a few runs along the way but ended up dropping the game 15-4.

Jeremie Veilleux led the way at the plate for Brantford, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Matt Fabian and Chris Kuzemka each notched a pair of hits. Danny Howat was exceptional in relief, going 4 complete innings and allowing 0 runs on just 2 hits while striking out 7. 

Week 4 Preview

Brantford will have some time to regroup and recover as their schedule resumes on Thursday:

• Thursday June 8 at Kitchener Panthers, 7:30 pm
• Friday June 9 vs. Guelph Royals, 8 pm at Arnold Anderson Stadium - TICKETS
• Saturday June 10 vs. Hamilton Cardinals, 8 pm at Arnold Anderson Stadium - TICKETS

The Brantford Red Sox were founded in 1911 and have won 15 Intercounty Baseball League titles. Season passes are now available at Brant Sports Excellence, 415 Fairview Drive in Brantford. Digital single game tickets, flex packs, and season passes are also available online at brantfordredsox.com/tickets. 

Read about the Red Sox in the Brant Beacon, the official media partner of the Brantford Red Sox, and follow @IBLRedSox on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.