Royals eliminate Jackfish

The dream of back-to-back championships is over for the Welland Jackfish.

The Guelph Royals knocked off the defending Dominico Cup champions 12-3 Thursday night before more than 2,000 fans at Welland Stadium to take the IBL best-of-five semifinal playoff series 3-2.

The Royals and Barrie Baycats now meet in a best-of-seven series for the Intercounty Baseball League championship beginning Sunday in Barrie.

The Jackfish faced elimination in last year’s semifinal but topped the Toronto Maple Leafs to advance to the final.

“Obviously, we wanted to win and get through that series. Credit to Guelph, they outplayed us and flat out beat us,” Jackfish manager Brian Essery said. “It makes it a little easier when you get beat. They outperformed us, yet it was a tough series. It was back and forth.”

The Jackfish took a 3-1 lead early before the Royals stormed back with 11 unanswered runs highlighted by a three-run homer by Andy Leader off reliever Mike Mueller.

“We controlled the first half of that game and they controlled the second half,” Essery said.

Essery felt Mueller gave the Jackfish the best chance to get out of the inning.

“He’s been a stud for us all year. He had a 0.00 ERA during the season. He’s our set up guy, our go-to guy in tough situations all year, and that was another tough situation. We needed a big out and he usually provides it for us. It happens. It’s baseball,” Essery said.

The Jackfish finished the regular season in first place with an impressive 24-8 mark, but Essery felt the club often had a bullseye on its back.

“We knew that going into the season. Even regular season games, teams were playing us tough and throwing their best pitchers at us,” he said. “Everyone wanted to beat us, we knew it. You have to respect that and it’s a compliment to your organization. They know how tough we are to beat and they all want to beat us.”

Essery said he is already looking forward to his sixth season in Welland and was in contact with general manager Jason MacKay Friday morning.

“We are already talking about next season and what’s out there and what’s available. It doesn’t stop but I enjoy it and still enjoy going to the park,” he said.

Essery said the plan is to continue to put a high quality product on the field capable of competing for a title.

“That’s the good thing about this league and competitive sports. You don’t want the same team winning every year. That would make it pretty boring. I think gone are the years where Barrie and Brantford win six in a row. I don’t think you’re going to see that anymore,” he said. “The league is too good, too competitive. It’s a business, which is a good thing for the league.”

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