Trio of Homers Power Brantford to Victory

by B. Young

KITCHENER - The Brantford Red Sox (1-8) started off a stretch of 3 games in 3 nights visiting the Kitchener Panthers (6-3). Brantford sent Isaiah Ramos to the mound, hoping the newly signed 6'0 lefty's firepower would help the Sox to start to turn things around. 

Brantford's bats did their part to start the inning, scoring a run in both the first and second innings, followed by a 2-run blast by Roger Keen in the 3rd. 

Ramos, meanwhile, held the Panthers hitless through 2 innings before giving up a solo blast in the 3rd. Another home run, this time a 2 run shot by Kitchener in the 4th, made it a 1 run game, with Brantford leading 4-3.

Sox expanded their lead in the 5th with a trio of runs. Spencer Voisin brought home Jeremie Veilleux, who currently has a 10 game hit streak on the go. Gus Wilson then kept the line moving and brought in Keen, and Kieran Bowles knocked in Voisin. Brantford led 7-3 in the middle of the 5th.

Christian Kuzemka added some insurance in the 6th with a solo shot, his first IBL home run. Veilleux joined in with a 2 run blast of his own. Brantford now led Kitchener 10-3 in the middle of the 6th.

Brantford's defence got a little sloppy in the 7th, gifting the Panthers a pair of runs to cut the lead to 10-5. But the Sox got one of those back via a Kieran Bowles sac fly in the 9th.  Kitchener threatened in the bottom of the 9th, loading the bases but Brantford hung on for the 11-5 win. 

Matthew Fabian and Jeremie Veilleux led the way for Brantford, each with a trio of hits. In a welcome sign of Brantford's bats starting to come around, the Sox put runners on base in every inning. Isaiah Ramos impressed in his IBL debut, striking out 6 over 6 innings of work for the win. Noah Falkenberg was solid in relief, going 3 innings while yielding just 2 runs (0 earned), falling just one out shy of earning the save.


Brantford now returns home for a pair of games:
  • Friday June 9 vs. Guelph Royals
  • Saturday June 10 vs. Hamilton Cardinals

Both games are an 8pm start at Arnold Anderson Stadium, tickets available at the gate or in advance at brantfordredsox.com/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.