Brantford Backslides in London

BRANTFORD - Less than 24 hours after their heartbreaking 3-2 walkoff loss in Barrie, the Brantford Red Sox logged more miles and headed to London to face the Majors. Brantford playing their third game in less than 48 hours necessitated some creative pitching, with reliever Sean Hood Tidman getting the start for the Red Sox.

After a scoreless first inning, Brantford's bats got to work in the second. With 2 outs, Spencer Jamieson singled, then was doubled in by Evan Ryan. Newcomer Jordan Young then moved Ryan to third on a drive to centre field. Ryan could have potentially tried scoring but third base coach Rick Pomerleau, perhaps a little gun shy after having a runner thrown out last night, threw up the stop sign. Ryan and Young were unfortunately then left stranded, and Brantford would have to settle for the early 1-0 lead. 

The defending champs would quickly make Brantford wish they had that additional run. The Majors scored a trio with 2 outs in the home half to take a 3-1 lead after 2 innings. The Red Sox would need to quickly bounce back and show some resiliency to avoid digging themselves down further. 

Troy Banks led off the 3rd inning with a single to left field. Then, everything that could seemingly go wrong did. Jon Dziomba was next up and thought he had a free pass via hit by pitch, but the home plate ump disagreed and the at bat continued. Dziomba then broke his bat on a flare out on a 3-0 pitch. Banks, straying a bit too far off from 1st base was picked off, followed by a Nick Burdett strikeout. Any potential rally was over with the Majors still leading 3-1.

The other shoe dropped for Brantford in the 4th inning, this time on defence. After Hood Tidman issued 2 straight walks to load the bases, Colton Fountain dropped the relay home on a potential double play grounder to allow 2 runs to score. Dziomba then made a fielding error on the next ground ball to gift the Majors with another run. Majors led 6-1 after 4 innings. 

Brantford was able to get a run back in each of the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings, but London scored many more. The progress shown by Brantford over the past few games was absent today, with a final score of London 14 Brantford 4.

FOR BRANTFORD:  Sean Hood Tidman put in a remarkable effort - coming into the game having pitched 5 total innings over 4 games this season in relief, he doubled that with 5 innings (116 pitches) today. His defence did not reward his efforts though, committing 5 errors behind him (only 3 of the 8 runs he surrendered were earned). For a team that has signed over 15 pitchers at various points this season, actually available arms continue to be a concern for the Red Sox.

At the plate, Troy Banks had 3 hits, while Jon Dziomba, Spencer Jamieson, and Jordan Young each contributed a pair. Brantford had 12 team hits and stranded 9 runners on base. 

NEXT UP: The Red Sox have a rematch at home vs. the Majors this Wednesday night, first pitch is 8 pm at Arnold Anderson Stadium. Brantford then has a rare Friday night road game in Hamilton, before returning home on Sunday to host the Barrie Baycats in a 2 pm matinee game (our last day home game until August). Advance tickets for all home games are available at brantfordredsox.com/tickets

Brantford Red Sox summer camp is back this year from July 18-22! For more information and to register your kids please visit brantfordredsox.com/summer-camp

LINKS

GAME LIVE   BOX SCORE   YOUTUBE

Established in 1911, the Brantford Red Sox have been an institution in the Southwestern Ontario community for over a century. The Brantford Red Sox are the most historically decorated active team in the Intercounty Baseball League, appearing in 27 finals and winning 15 IBL championships. 

2022 season passes , flex packs, and single game tickets are on sale now. For all the latest updates follow the Brantford Red Sox on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Subscribe to the Brantford Red Sox YouTube channel for live and on demand streaming of home games.