Week in Review: New Additions Make Immediate Impact
GUELPH - The Royals announced this week the signings of Venezuelan stars Franklin Torres and Keinner Pina, as well as Panamanian lefty Antonio Frias. The trio of new signings made their way to Guelph after their respective seasons in Venezuela and Mexico ended, and their impact is sure to be seen and heard around the League.
TUESDAY
The Guelph Royals welcomed in the red hot Barrie Baycats to Hastings Stadium on a beautiful Tuesday night at Hastings Stadium. The Baycats went into this game having won six straight games and the Royals were coming off a well-earned victory over the Brantford Red Sox.
Jacob Kush got the nod from Manager Dino Roumel as the Royals were looking to build some momentum after the All-Star break. Kush retired the first 12 batters he faced, striking out three batters along the way and took a perfect game into the fifth inning. He walked his first batter but responded by getting Tristian Clarke to ground into a double play and then striking out Clayton Keyes to get out of the inning.
He gave up his first hit in the sixth inning because of a bloop single that landed in shallow centre, just out of reach of three Royals defenders. Roumel pulled him after the seventh inning after Kush had delivered another dominant performance that we are all getting used to seeing out of him.
“Letting my defence work was the biggest key tonight,” Kush mentioned postgame. He also credited his offence for giving him lots of run support, “it’s awesome to pitch with a lead.”
Speaking of the offence, we got a taste of what this team is capable of on Tuesday night as they exploded for 14 runs of offence, with 11 of those runs coming in the fourth and fifth innings.
Things got started in the third inning when Brando Leroux laid down a perfect bunt down the right field line that advanced Ashton Patterson to second base, who drew a walk with his prior at-bat. Conner Morro was hit by a pitch, but stayed in and took his base.
Liam Wilson scored the first two runs of the game thanks to a single and an error by the catcher. His single drove in Ashton Patterson, and the error allowed Conner Morro to score from second and Wilson advanced to second on the same play.
The Royals took the 2-0 lead into the fourth inning where the flood gates really opened. With the bases loaded an no outs, Brando Leroux smacked a single to right field to score Andy Leader. Jordan Gallo scored on a passed ball, Patterson scored his second run off of a Garrett Takamatsu sac fly and Wilson drove in Leroux to make the score 6-0. Ethan Hammond drew a bases-loaded walk and Wilson scored on a fielder’s choice to make it 8-0.
In the fifth, Takamatsu scored two thanks to a double that he ripped to left field. Wilson drove in his third RBI as he beat out a dropped third strike throw to first, which allowed Matthew Ward to score score Takamatsu with a sac fly. Gallo scored the final run of the inning, and it was 13-0 for Guelph.
Each team scored one run the rest of the way, and Guelph took this one home by a final score of 14-1 for their second straight win.
FRIDAY
A Friday night in Toronto saw another high scoring game, but this time it was much closer than the previous game vs Barrie.
Guelph jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after three innings, but that lead was in danger after the Leafs scored five runs by end of the fifth inning. They responded with a three run sixth inning to go up 9-5 and took a 9-7 lead into the 9th inning. Each team scored two runs in the ninth inning and the game ended in an 11-9 score.
Friday night marked the season debut of Guelph star Franklin Torres, who returned to the team after his season in Venezuela came to a close. The fan favourite went 3-4 with two doubles and a stolen base.
Guelph hit three homes vs Toronto, courtesy of Leroux, Ward and Wilson and had RBI’s from five different players.
SUNDAY
After Saturday’s game vs the Cardinals got rained out, Guelph travelled to Kitchener to take on the Panthers in search of their fourth straight win.
Guelph was up 4-3 after the fifth inning, thanks to home runs from Torres and Pina, but it was the sixth inning where the bats came alive. It started off with back-to-back home runs from Ward and Leader, Guelph’s third and fourth homers of the game. Then Torres scored Hammond with a single and Pina scored Torres and Patterson with a single. Ward then scored Pina with a sac fly, and Leader drove in Wilson. Patterson scored the eighth and ninth runs thanks to a single and an error. In the end, Guelph was up 13-3.
Pina smacked a three-run home run in the eighth inning for his second long bomb of the game, and the game ended with a 19-7 final score.
To sum it up, take a look at some of the stat lines from the Royals offence:
Pina: 3-6, 2 HR, 8 RBI
Torres: 6-6, HR, 2 RBI
Leader: 4-6, HR, 2 RBI
Ward: 1-3, HR, 2RBI
Lost in all this was the stellar play of some newly acquired pitching. Antonio Frias started the game and pitched 3.0 innings and struck out three batters. He was relieved by 2022 IBL MVP Claudio Custodio, who made his 2025 IBL debut, and he pitched 4.0 innings, struck out three and gave up no earned runs.
Guelph improved their record to 15-18 and sit in sixth place in the standings, and are the IBL’s hottest team.
UP NEXT
Guelph has a home-and-home with the Hamilton Cardinals this Friday and Saturday, with the second game being held in Guelph.