Gameday in 5

A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Sept. 13-18) — for London’s teams and athletes.

The 2022 Nash Cup winners, Egypt’s Zeina Zein (left) and England’s Nathan Lake. (Photo: Laura Savage).

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London Majors

The Majors began their IBL title defense against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and when the dust settled the best-of-seven series was tied 2-2 heading into the new week. London started strong with a 12-2 win in Game 1 Tuesday at Labatt Park. Owen Boon was dominant, allowing just an unearned run in 7 innings with 13 strikeouts. Fernando Fernandez then threw a pair or scoreless innings with four strikeouts. The Majors’ offensive damage came in two innings, a 6-run second and a 5-run seventh. Starling Joseph (2-for-4, 3 RBI) homered, while Jakob Newton, Taylor Wright and Cleveland Brownlee each drove in a pair of runs.

At Christie Pits in Toronto Thursday, the Majors dropped a 9-6 decision in Game 2, with Pedro De Los Santos taking the loss. He allowed six runs on seven hits (and five walks) in four innings. Byron Reichstein had a home run in a losing effort, while Newton tripled and reached base four times and Brownlee had a pair of RBIs. The Majors bounced back Friday at home with a 6-3 win to take a 2-1 series lead. Jose Arias was solid for London, earning a quality start and six strikeouts in six innings. Seven of the Majors’ nine starters recorded a hit in the game, with Wright, Reichstein and Dan Perrier each recording a multi-hit game. Newton had the big hit with a 3-run homer in the 2nd inning.

With a chance to take a 3-1 series lead Sunday, the Majors came up short, losing 2-1 in Toronto. London got off to a good start in the first, with Robert Mullen doubling to drive in the first run of the game. But it would be the only run the Majors would score, as they were held in check by Maple Leafs starter Angel Castro. Toronto scored both of their runs in the 4th inning on back-to-back home runs by Jordan Castaldo and Justin Marra off Owen Boon, who allowed four hits overall in seven innings, striking out eight. London outhit Toronto, 10-4, with Wright and Perrier picking up two hits apiece.

Up next:

The Majors will look to re-gain the series lead Tuesday night at Labatt Park in Game 5 of the series — a rematch of last year’s final. Game 6 will go Thursday in Toronto, with a potential Game 7 back in London Friday.

2022 IBL Finals (London Majors vs. Toronto Maple Leafs) (best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

Game 5: Tues. Sept. 20 (7:35pm vs. Toronto Maple Leafs)
Game 6: Thurs. Sept. 22 (7:30pm @ Toronto Maple Leafs)
Game 7: Fri. Sept. 23 (7:30pm vs. Toronto Maple Leafs) – If necessary

London Knights

The Knights continued their preparations for the 2022-23 season, although they didn’t see game action last week. They’ll return to competition Friday and play a pair of games before opening the regular season the following Friday (Sept. 30) at Budweiser Gardens.

Up next:

Fri. Sept. 23 (7:00pm vs. Erie Otters)
Sat. Sept. 24 (4:00pm @ Erie Otters)

London Nationals

The Nationals improved to 2-0 on the season last week, as they beat the St. Marys Lincolns 5-4 in overtime Friday. Rylan Bowers scored the icebreaker for the Nats at the 8:51 mark in the first. St. Marys scored shortly after to tie the game, but a late power-play goal by Riley Wood put the Nats ahead once again. The second period saw a lot of scoring, but the Nationals never fell behind — thanks to goals by Wood and Lucas Chard. With the game tied 4-4 to start the third, neither team was able to score and the game was forced into overtime. The extra frame was short-lived, though, as Sam O’Reilly scored the game-winner for London just past the 1:30 minute mark.

Up next:

Wed. Sept. 21 (7:00pm vs. Sarnia Legionnaires)
Fri. Sept. 23 (5:00pm @ Niagara Falls Canucks)
Sun. Sept. 25 (4:30pm vs. Kitchener-Waterloo Siskins)

London Beefeaters

The Beefeaters improved to 4-2 on the season with a close 16-15 road win over the Hamilton Hurricanes Sunday. Hamilton got off to a strong start, scoring 14 points in the first quarter, but the Beefeaters fought back in the 2nd with 10 points of their own. Hamilton scored a single point in the 3rd, but London scored 6 in the 4th quarter to earn the win. Stats to follow …

Up next:

The 4-2 Beefeaters, who sit tied for second place in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) with the Ottawa Sooners, will do battle with that same Sooners squad on Saturday (5pm) at Citywide Field in London.

Sat. Sept. 24 (5:00pm vs. Ottawa Sooners)

Nash Cup

The 14th annual Nash Cup squash tournament was a big success, and the competition crowned two new champions: Nathan Lake (England) on the men’s side, and Zeina Zein (Egypt) on the women’s side. Lake (ranked No. 38 in the world) beat his fellow countryman, Curtis Malik (No. 75), 3-1 (11-6, 10-12, 11-2, 11-7), while Zein (No. 89), just 17 years old, triumphed over Georgia Adderley (Scotland, No. 59), 3-1 (11-6, 10-12, 11-2, 11-7).

A field of 48 in total (24 on each side) included players from 18 different countries, 30 top 100-ranked players (PSA), 21 first-time Nash Cup participants, and 10 Canadian competitors. Both the men and women competed for a $20,000 (USD) purse along with points to increase their overall PSA ranking.