Strong stays hot in Barnstormers’ win

KITCHENER – Seth Strong continued his Triple Crown chase in leading the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers to a 12-6 win Thursday night in Kitchener.

Strong hit his IBL-leading 10^th home run and drove in three, raising his league-best RBI total to 25. He’s tied for second with a .397 average behind Barrie’s Hayden Jaco, who’s hitting .421.

Robert Mackie and Braxton Haggith each homered and drove in three for Chatham-Kent (7-12). Lee Kucera went 3-for-6 with two RBI and two runs, Mitsuki Fukuda singled three times and drove in a run, Spencer Marcus scored three runs and stole a base, and Daniel Battel had a pair of hits.

Brock Whitson (2-0) went seven innings for the win. He was charged with three runs on seven hits and struck out five.

Eric Martin and Nick Parsons each hit three-run home runs for the Panthers (4-14). Blake Jacklin and Raul Gonzalez added two hits apiece.

Pedro De Los Santos took the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two.