Cardinals tie franchise wins record, beat Barnstormers 8-5

The Hamilton Cardinals made it four straight Friday night, beating the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers 8-5 at Bernie Arbour Stadium. The win was their 22nd of the season, tying a franchise record, and pushed them to 10 games above .500 for the first time in club history. Hamilton trailed 2-0 after the top of the first, then erupted for four runs in the third and never gave the lead back. Darlin German drove the offence, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Carlos Dominguez added three hits, two runs and two RBI, and Jaden Brown chipped in two hits and a run scored from the DH spot. Hector Yan got the win with five innings of work, allowing three runs—two earned—on three hits with 11 strikeouts. Logan Warkentin gave up two runs in 1.1 innings, but Casey Bouillere-Howard steadied things with a scoreless frame and two strikeouts before Danny Garcia closed it out for his first save of the season. The Cardinals finished with 14 hits and no errors. German now leads the team with 53 hits and 41 RBI, and his .361 average sits second on the club behind Brandon Nicoll's .383. Hamilton improves to 22-12 and sits 2.5 games back in the standings. They wrap up the weekend on the road Sunday at 4:05 p.m. against London at Labatt Park.