Cardinals rout Red Sox 15-3, one win from first-ever pennant

HAMILTON – The Hamilton Cardinals took care of their own business in emphatic fashion on Sunday afternoon. Now they wait. The Cards crushed the Brantford Red Sox 15-3 at Bernie Arbour Stadium, riding an eight-run fifth inning and a five-run seventh to their sixth straight win. Hamilton (31-17) finishes its regular-season schedule with 31 wins — and a shot at history. The Cardinals can clinch the first pennant in the franchise's 68-year history on Monday night, when the Welland Jackfish and London Majors resume their suspended game. Welland leads 9-2 in the top of the fifth. A Jackfish win would lift Hamilton past London (31-16) into first place heading into the playoffs. Darlin German drove in four runs and Reyny Reyes knocked in three as the Cardinals piled up 15 hits against four Brantford pitchers. Tyler Duncan went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and Carlos Dominguez scored twice and drove in three. The game was tight early. Brantford scratched out a run off Owen Boon in the first on three straight singles, but the Cardinals answered in the second when Reyes singled home Duncan and later came around on a stolen base to make it 2-1. Then the floodgates opened in the fifth. Dominguez singled home two, German doubled in two more, and after a fielder's choice and a wild pitch brought in a pair, Evan Magill and Jeremie Veilleux tacked on RBI knocks. When the dust settled, Hamilton had sent 13 men to the plate and led 10-1. Boon (7-1) was sharp in his final regular-season start, allowing one run on three hits over five innings with six strikeouts. He closes out the year with a 2.86 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 85 innings. Casey Bouillere-Howard worked the final two frames. The Cards weren't done. In the seventh, three straight walks loaded the bases, Dominguez forced in a run with a free pass of his own, and German, Duncan and Reyes each singled home runs to cap the scoring at 15. Connor Irvine (3-6) took the loss for Brantford (21-27) after giving up six earned runs on eight hits over 4.1 innings. The CBL playoffs open in September. Whether the Cardinals head in as the first seed or the second comes down to Monday night in Welland.