Jackfish edge Cardinals 7-5 as Hamilton falls behind 3-0 in Dominico Cup Finals

HAMILTON – The Cardinals kept swinging until the final out, but a seven-run hole proved too deep as the Welland Jackfish took a commanding 3-0 series lead with a 7-5 win in Game 3 of the Dominico Cup Finals on Sunday afternoon at Bernie Arbour Stadium. Angel Guerrero was brilliant, going a perfect 4-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Reyny Reyes tripled and scored, Evan Magill legged out an RBI triple of his own, and Trevor Nicoll chipped in two hits and a run batted in. Both three-baggers came on balls that took wild hops on the outfield grass and skipped past right fielder Justin Gideon. The Birds rallied for five runs on 13 hits but couldn't catch a Jackfish club that struck for four in the second and three more in the seventh. Welland jumped ahead early. James Smibert doubled home the first run in the second, Justin Gideon lifted a sacrifice fly, Gianfranco Morello doubled home another, and Daiki Abe singled to make it 4-0 before the Cardinals had settled in. Owen Boon settled down after the rough frame but the damage was done. The Cardinals battled back. Guerrero's RBI single in the fourth started a three-run rally that included Magill's triple and Nicoll's single, cutting the deficit to one. Guerrero drove in another in the sixth to make it 5-4, but that's as close as Hamilton would get. Welland answered in the seventh when Abe tripled home two and Jonah Weisner doubled home another, restoring the three-run cushion. Deivy Mendez slammed the door in the ninth for the save. Pedro De Los Santos worked 2.2 scoreless innings to earn the win in relief of Abdiel Saldana, who yielded five runs over 5.1. Boon took the loss despite fanning four without a walk over six frames. The Cardinals now face elimination and must win four straight to claim the first Dominico Cup in franchise history. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Welland at 7:05 p.m. A Cardinals win would force a Game 5 back at Bernie Arbour Stadium on Friday at 7:35 p.m. — click here for Game 5 tickets . If necessary, the series would return to The Pond for Game 6 on Saturday night before a potential decisive Game 7 in Hamilton on Sunday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. — click here for Game 7 tickets .