Gameday in 5

A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (July 18-24) — for London’s teams and athletes.

(Photo: League1 Ontario)

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London Majors

The Majors extended their win streak to six games last week by winning all three of their weekend games, including a pair of convincing victories.

The closest of the three? Friday night against the Barrie Baycats, where they came with a 4-3 win at Labatt Park. Majors starter Jose Arias pitched 7 innings, allowing just one unearned run while logging 12 strikeouts for his eighth win of the season. The Majors broke through in the 3rd inning with Jakob Newton driving in the game’s first run. An Austin Wilkie single scored the Majors’ second run of the game in the fifth, and then Newton belted what turned out to be a game-winning home run in the 7th, which put the Majors ahead 4-1 at the time. London allowed two runs in the 8th, and the Baycats rallied in the 9th, but Daniel Gore managed to close things out and earn a save.

After a close game Friday, the Majors put up 12 runs Saturday in Brantford in a convincing 12-6 win over the Red Sox. London starter Pedro De Los Santos went six innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits in the win. He struck out 9 on the night. Robert Mullen got the Majors going offensively, driving in Newton for the game’s first run — in the top of the first. Dan Perrier had the big blow, delivering a grand slam in the 6th inning to put London ahead 7-1. Perrier finished a perfect 4-for-4 with 5 RBIs, while Mullen went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a pair of RBIs. Fernando Fernandez struck out all six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Majors put on another offensive show on Saturday in a 10-3 over the Hamilton Cardinals. Mullen and Perrier each had big games again — the former going 4-for-4 with his 10th home run of the year, the latter posting a 2-for-5 day with 3 RBIs and his second homer in as many days. Cleveland Brownlee had four hits and a pair of RBIs, while Wilkie and Newton also drove in runs. On the mound, Owen Boon worked 6 innings of shutout baseball, racking up 9 strikeouts in the win.

Up next:

The Majors (22-8), just a half-game back of Welland for top spot in the IBL standings entering action this week, are back on the field Friday when they host Hamilton — and welcome alumnus (and MLB Hall of Famer) Fergie Jenkins for pregame festivities.

Fri. July 29 (7:35pm vs. Hamilton Cardinals)
Sun. July 31 (2:00pm @ Kitchener Panthers)
Mon. Aug. 1 (7:35pm vs. Brantford Red Sox)

FC London

Women’s team:

After losing two in a row for the first time all season, FC London’s Women’s team finished their regular season strong on Sunday, beating Guelph Union 3-2 on the road. After going down 1-0 in the 10th minute, Ally Hicks tied the game in the 33rd minute. London took the lead late in the first half, thanks to a goal by Nat Abbate, but Guelph tied the game in the second half. The difference? A late penalty kick, which Julia Benati punched home in the 90th minute to give FC London the win — and home field in their quarter-final match this week.

Up next:

The Women (13-4-2, 41 points), who finished tied for fourth in the League1 Ontario standings, will play the Simcoe County Rovers (12-2-5) in a quarter-final match Wednesday at Tricar Field. London earned home field thanks to a better goal differential than their counterparts. The Woodbridge Strikers (3) will play Alliance United FC (6) in the other quarter-final, while NDC-Ontario (1) and Vaughan Azzurri (2) have earned a bye to the semi-finals next weekend.

Wed. July 27 (8:00pm vs. Simcoe County)
Sat. July 30 (TBD @ NDC-Ontario/Vaughan) (Semi-final match if FC London wins Wednesday)

Men’s team

FC London’s Men’s team was shut out on Sunday, losing 3-0 to second-place Blue Devils FC (11-1-5) on the road. The Blue Devils scored their first goal late in the first half, and then added two more in the second half to put the game away.

Up next:

The men (2-12-3) hit the road again Saturday, as they’ll take on BVB IA Waterloo (6-10-1) in an evening match. Just four games remain on London’s schedule, including home matches on Aug. 6 (Guelph United) and Aug. 20 (Alliance United FC).

Sat. July 30 (8:00pm @ BVB IA Waterloo)