Brantford Red Sox were eliminated from playoff contention after losing 10-2 to the Guelph Royals on Sunday, August 18, 2024.
Guelph pressed for the game’s first run in the early going, but the Red Sox bailed out their starter, Gregor Farquharson and kept the game scoreless through three innings.
In the third inning, the Red Sox had their first scoring opportunity with two runners on and one out. Sox SS Gus Wilson hit a single, but his untimely base-running mistake led to an inning-ending double play by the Royals and kept the game tied.
The Royals broke the deadlock in the fifth inning. After Carson Burns stole a base, which put runners on second and third, Ashton Patterson hit a two-run RBI single, giving the Royals a 2-0 lead. Farquharson and the Red Sox prevented further damage by retiring the Royals side in order.
After Red Sox’s Jeremie Veilleux popped out to centre field in the same inning, the game was delayed due to a sudden rainstorm. After a nearly two-hour delay, the game resumed with one out in the bottom of the fifth. With Sox 3B Jaret Lupton on first, he stole second before CF Ethan Paulos flied out to centre, which was followed up a Matt Fabian strikeout to end the inning.
Red Sox RP Isaiah Ramos took over for Farquharson in the top of the sixth and Guelph took advantage, capitalizing on two doubles, a passed ball and a single to double their lead to 4-0. The Red Sox couldn’t muster any offence in their half of the sixth, going down in order.
Guelph continued to rough up the Sox bullpen in the top of the seventh. After a quick first out, the Royals bats beat up on the Sox bullpen and capitalized on a fielding error to blow the game wide open. Guelph combined for four hits, a walk and a hit batter to take a commanding 8-0 lead.
Brantford couldn’t muster any offence in the bottom of the seventh or eighth innings while the Royals tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth to open up a 10-0 lead. Brantford’s bats finally came alive in the bottom of the ninth, scoring two runs to break the shutout but it wasn’t enough as they fell 10-2 to the Royals.
With the loss, the Red Sox will finish the regular season in ninth place and will not qualify for the playoffs. The Brantford Red Sox (11-30) sealed their fate by dropping eight of their last ten games, including a pair of losses each to the seventh place Toronto Maple Leafs and eighth place Kitchener Panthers.
Brantford has now finished in last place in four of the last five seasons, and have not fielded a team with a winning record since 2016.
The Brantford Red Sox wrap up their season Tuesday at Arnold Anderson Stadium when they host the Barrie Baycats at 8 pm. This is a makeup game for Friday night’s rainout.
