Lawson goes off in Panthers’ win

KITCHENER – Trent Lawson ended the regular season with three home runs and six RBI in Kitchener’s 11-10 win over Welland on Sunday at Jack Couch Park.  

The Panthers’ designated hitter hit a three-run home run in the second inning, a solo blast in the third and a two-run shot in the fifth. Petey Kiefer went 3-for-4 and hit a two-run home run. He finished a triple short of the cycle. Yunior Ibarra had three hits and two RBI, Yosuke Fujie drove in a run, and Mateo Zeppieri singled twice.  

On the mound, Jake Liberta (1-0) allowed a run on three hits in three innings of relief to earn the win. He walked one and fanned four after taking over for starter Evan Elliott, who was touched for eight runs (six earned) on 10 hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out five. Danny Garcia, who allowed a ninth-inning run, fanned four in two innings to pick up his fifth save. 

The eighth-place Panthers enter playoffs with a 17-25 record.  

Jonah Weisner went 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs for the first-place Jackfish (31-11). Gianfranco Morello had three hits and two RBI, James Smibert drove in three on two hits, while Robert Mullen, Thomas Green and Brendan Luther had an RBI apiece.  

Halen Knoll took the loss on the mound after giving up 11 runs (10 earned) on 16 hits over four innings. He walked one and struck out two.  

The teams will meet again in the first round of playoffs. A schedule will be announced this week.