Panthers stun Jackfish in Game 1

WELLAND – Forget about the standings.

After grabbing the last playoff spot and finishing 18 games back of first-place Welland, the Kitchener Panthers took the opener of their first-round series against the Jackfish.

Raul Gonzalez delivered the key hit Thursday night in Welland, driving in Jett Jarvis with two outs in the top of the 10^th inning of the Panthers’ 3-2 win.

Ryan Burnside also came up big in the victory, driving in a pair of runs to put the Panthers ahead in the sixth inning.

On the mound, Yankiel Mauris (1-0) fanned four in 3.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win. He entered the game with one out in the seventh after Yadian Martinez allowed two runs on six hits in 6.1 innings. Martinez walked five and struck out five.

Jake Sanford and Steven Moretto drove in Welland’s runs. Jonah Weisner went 3-for-4.

Deivy Mendez (0-1) took the loss after giving up the go-ahead run in the 10^th. Ben Abram started and went seven innings, yielding two runs on six hits with a walk and six strikeouts.