Williams and Garton power Royals to Home Opener Victory

Williams and Garton sound like some powerful corporation you'd find in TV shows like the Office or Suits. But in reality, this dynamic duel powers the Royals' offense in the Intercounty Baseball League.

J.D. Williams and Josh Garton went deep twice in the Guelph Royals’ 10-4 win over the Brantford Red Sox  Saturday afternoon at David E. Hastings Stadium.

The victory marked the Royals' first home opener win since 2016.

Williams led off the bottom of the first with a home run and Garton hit a two-run blast three batters later. Garton added a solo home run in the fifth and Williams went deep again in the eighth. Williams also doubled home a pair to end the day with five RBIs.

Noah Roberts went 2-for-4 with a home run, Brando Leroux had a pair of hits and an RBI and Sean Reilly went 2-for-4 with two runs . Reilly also tallied a rare stolen base in the first inning much to the delight of the energized home crowd.

Emilis Guerrero (1-1) struck out five over eight innings for the win. He yielded three runs on seven hits with a walk.

Jon Dziomba pinch hit a two-run blast in the third inning to lead the Red Sox (0-5). Spencer Jamieson and Colton Fountain each drove home a run while Liam Sutherland was 2-for-4, and scored a run.

Hayden Stam (0-1) took the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits over four innings. He walked three and struck out two.

The Royals are on the road Sunday afternoon in Kitchener to take on the Panthers with the first pitch set for 2:00 pm. The Royals return home Tuesday night  to host the Welland Jackfish at 7:30 pm

Photo By Gar Fitzgerald