Cardinals drop Game 1 of Dominico Cup Finals to Jackfish, 6-1

HAMILTON – One game down, and a long way from over. The Hamilton Cardinals dropped Game 1 of the 2026 CBL Dominico Cup Finals 6-1 to the Welland Jackfish on Friday night at Bernie Arbour Stadium, falling behind 1-0 in the best-of-seven championship series. Hector Yan, so good all postseason with a 0.90 ERA coming in, ran into trouble early. Welland scratched across a run in the second when Brendan Luther swiped home, then tacked on two more in the third off a Robert Mullen sacrifice fly and a Luther RBI single. The Jackfish added two in the fourth and one more in the fifth to chase Yan after three-plus innings of five-run ball. Euclides Leyer was the story for Welland. The right-hander worked seven innings of one-run ball, scattering six hits and striking out 10, keeping a red-hot Cardinals lineup off balance all night. Teodoro Ortega mopped up the final two frames to seal it. Hamilton's lone tally came in the fourth when Dario Borrero singled and came around on a Brandon Nicoll base knock to centre. The Cardinals matched the Jackfish with 11 hits on the night, but three errors – two of them charged to Yan on the mound – and a pair of Welland stolen bases that turned into runs made the difference. Borrero led the way at the dish with a 3-for-5 night, while Angel Guerrero reached base all four times up with two hits and two walks. Nicoll finished 2-for-5 with the club's only RBI. Daiki Abe paced Welland with two hits, a walk and two stolen bases, while Luther went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run and a swipe. The Cardinals, in the finals for the first time since 2002 and chasing the franchise's first title since 1978, head to Welland on Saturday with plenty of baseball left to play in this series. Remaining CBL Finals Schedule (Hamilton Cardinals vs. Welland Jackfish — best-of-seven) Game 2: Saturday, Sept. 19 — 7:05 p.m. at Welland Stadium, Welland Game 3: Sunday, Sept. 20 — 4:05 p.m. at Bernie Arbour Stadium, Hamilton Game 4: Wednesday, Sept. 23 — 7:05 p.m. at Welland Stadium, Welland Game 5 (if necessary): Friday, Sept. 25 — 7:35 p.m. at Bernie Arbour Stadium, Hamilton Game 6 (if necessary): Saturday, Sept. 26 — 7:05 p.m. at Welland Stadium, Welland Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday, Sept. 27 — 4:05 p.m. at Bernie Arbour Stadium, Hamilton 🎟 Get your CBL Finals tickets here Can't make it to the park? Catch all the CBL Finals action live on Cable 14 and streaming at Cable14.com .