KINSMEN – June 21 — A five-run first inning, another complete team effort, and three shutdown innings from veteran reliever Cory Bond carried the SweatSox to an 11-5 victory over the Coyotes Sunday evening at Kinsmen.
The SweatSox wasted no time putting the Coyotes on their heels, sending ten batters to the plate in the opening inning and racing out to a 5-0 lead. Rather than relying on one big swing, the offence came through with relentless pressure as five different hitters delivered RBI singles before the Coyotes had a chance to catch their breath.
The Coyotes answered with one run in the bottom of the first and three more in the third, trimming the deficit to just 5-4 and setting up what looked to be a tense finish.
Instead, the Bond brothers slammed the door.
Starting pitcher Mark Bond battled through the opening three innings before handing the ball to his older brother, Cory, with the tying run looming. Cory answered the call with three composed innings of relief, striking out four batters while allowing minimal traffic, preserving the lead as the game was shortened to six innings due to time. The result officially became Cory’s first save since a 2021 victory over the Misfits—a game that also happened to feature a Mark Bond win.
Manager Cory Bond couldn’t help but notice the strange coincidence.
“The last time Mark got the win and I got the save was against the Misfits back in 2021,” Bond laughed. “Right after that game they went out and signed Kevin Lamarche and Wade Wilson. Hopefully the Coyotes don’t decide to make a couple of franchise-altering acquisitions after this one too.”
Mark and Cory turned in remarkably similar stat lines. Each worked three innings, each struck out four hitters, and each struck out the side once. The biggest difference came in command, where the elder Bond surrendered fewer walks and fewer runs.
“I love taking the ball knowing somebody as reliable as Cory is waiting behind me,” Mark Bond said. “My job is to set the tone for everyone who follows. If I can hand him a game that’s still ours to win, I know we’re in good hands.”
The SweatSox offence continued adding insurance throughout the middle innings.
James Paul and Mike Pignat each collected three hits to pace the attack, but the biggest blow came in the fifth when Pignat ripped a two-run double that restored breathing room and effectively put the game out of reach.
Josh Ramage added two hits and two RBIs of his own, though his afternoon wasn’t without frustration after grounding into a poorly timed inning-ending double play in the second.
“I can’t be hitting the ball that hard right at middle infielders who are already standing in double play depth,” Ramage said. “I’ve got to be better moving forward.”
Coyotes designated hitter Eli Seunarine offered little sympathy.
“I hate Josh Ramage,” Seunarine joked. “Seeing him hit into that double play brought me an unreasonable amount of joy. It might’ve been my favourite play of the game.”
Defensively, the SweatSox infield turned in one of their sharpest performances of the season.
Shortstop Craig Cornell made perhaps the defensive play of the night with a bases-loaded, inning-ending catch while drifting into shallow left field. Second baseman Jaspreet Sanghra recorded two key assists in the fourth inning, while third baseman Mike Pignat somehow topped that effort with two highlight-reel assists of his own in the fifth.
“I’m going to need a week or two off from the infield after all that running,” Pignat laughed. “Good thing I packed a little something extra in the cooler for exactly this kind of day… go check and see, and while you’re up…”
The only defensive blemish belonged to left fielder Andrew Hierlihy, whose dropped fly ball became the SweatSox’s lone error.
Andrew Hierlihy strongly disagreed with our official scorer’s decision.
“That’s absolute bullshit,” Hierlihy said. “I couldn’t even see the ball most of the way because the sun was setting. Then you’ve got that non-stop techno music blasting from the parking lot Fair distracting everybody, and by the time the ball popped out of my glove I was already on my knees. The Coyotes scored it correctly as a hit. This is just weak SweatSox scoring by an even weaker SweatSox scorekeeper.”
For the Coyotes, Danyk Leroux did everything he could offensively, finishing 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI. On the mound, ace Kevin Seguin, historically one of the toughest Coyotes pitchers our club has faced, once again proved difficult for the SweatSox to square up consistently despite taking the loss.
“We expected to be better,” Seguin admitted. “We just weren’t mentally prepared for this one. Losing Stu Hayes was on everyone’s mind, and before we knew it we were already down five runs.”
The contest marked the Coyotes’ first game following the sudden retirement of longtime franchise leader Stu Hayes, who stepped away just 12 hits shy of reaching the coveted 300-hit milestone with the club.
“I didn’t want to keep playing just to chase a record,” Hayes said. “I’m shifting my full attention to umpiring now, and I look forward to ejecting anybody who thinks it’s a good idea to make smartass or hot-headed comments.”
Coyotes manager Sean Wright admitted the transition won’t be easy.
“This one hurts,” Wright said. “Hopefully we recover quickly. Stu has meant everything to this organization, and there will always be a spot waiting for him if he ever changes his mind.”
SweatSox bench coach Larry Pawelek isn’t buying the retirement.
“He’ll be back in the lineup next week,” Pawelek predicted. “I’ve seen this movie before.”
The SweatSox will look to carry momentum from this game into Friday night’s matchup against the Orleans Lynx at the Nepean Sportsplex. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m., with Ron Martelle expected to get the start.
Final SweatSox vs Coyotes Notes/Thoughts:
- Sean Wright was the base umpire in the game before us, so why wasn’t he on the plate for ours?
- Parking Pro Tip: When the fair is on, park in the Lower Kinsmen lot.
- Jean Lazure is a Coke Zero man 👌
- Larry only showed up to destroy the porta-potty.
- Trevor was in the middle of setting the tone to lead off the game, but was Jeter’d by the Coyotes SS.
- Craig is on work-cover duty tomorrow, without any extra pay.
- So it was never Jas, it was Jas’ spot in the order?
- Trevor was 0/2 in the 1st, Craig was 0/2 in the 5th.
- Where is the 2nd Kinsmen tarp?
- Mike is missing Friday because of jury duty.
- Why is Mrs. Phil talking to Craig?
- Tristan Haman noted that James’ bat is very broken. I guess we’ll find out next game whether or not it was the man or the bat.
- The Air Canada customer service counter at the Lethbridge airport is highly questionable.
- To avoid paying for drinks and/or meals, just leave your wallet in the back seat flap of a cult car.
- It’s never too soon for a “While you’re up…”
- Craig has a window office where he can see people walking down the street.
- Shoutout to special guests: Tom Coyne, Steve MacMillan, Marc Cadieux, and Jean Lazure, who all stopped by our dugout to say hi either before, during, or after the game.
- Is that a blister, bunion, or genitalia?
