Two of the closest geographical rivals in the Canadian Baseball League (CBL) will battle it out for the Dominico Cup championship beginning Friday night.
The Welland Jackfish and Hamilton Cardinals finished the regular season with identical (31-17) records, but Hamilton held the tiebreaker taking three of five games against the Jackfish during the regular season.
Both teams won their respective first-round playoff series in six games – the Jackfish over London and the Cardinals over Barrie.
As for playoffs stats heading into the championship, both teams have players in the top 10 (minimum 12 at bats).
Welland third-baseman James Smibert leads both teams in batting average at .478, Jackfish second-baseman Jonah Weisner is next at .444, with Hamilton centre fielder leading the Cardinals at .435.
Weisner has 12 hits, while Smibert and leadoff left-fielder Daike Abe have 11 each. Duncan is top on Hamilton with 10 postseason hits.
Jackfish designated-hitter Greyson Barrett, Abe, and Hamilton infielder Reyny Reyes all have two home runs apiece.
Barrett leads the CBL in playoff runs batted in with nine, while Abe and Reyes have seven each.
On the mound, Hamilton’s Hector Yan is (2-0) with a .090 earned run average, while Ben Abram leads Welland sporting a (1-1) record with 1.15 ERA and CBL postseason best 10 strikeouts.
Out of the bullpen, the Cardinals Freisis Adames has a playoff high two saves and 0.00 ERA.
Jackfish manager Brian Essery laid out the championship match up like this.
“Hamilton is very similar to us. They have a solid lineup, one through nine, very good starting pitching and they limit mistakes with good defence,” Essery explained. “I feel if we can get to their starting pitching and continue to put pressure on them we can have some success.”
“I know our pitching will keep us in every game so we have to play clean defence – much like we did in the last four games against London,” he added. “This will be an exciting, emotional, series and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of winning another ring.”
Here’s a look at the 2026 CBL Dominico Cup Finals schedule:
Game 1: Friday, September 18 – Welland at Hamilton – 7:05 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, September 19 – Hamilton at Welland – 7:05 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday, September 20 – Welland at Hamilton – 4:05 p.m.
Game 4: Wednesday, September 23 – Hamilton at Welland – 7:05 p.m.
Game 5: Friday, September 25 – Welland at Hamilton – 7:05 p.m.*
Game 6: Saturday, September 26 – Hamilton at Welland – 7:05 p.m.*
Game 7: Sunday, September 27 – Welland at Hamilton – 4:05 p.m.*
* denotes if necessary
Tickets are on sale now at wellandjackfish.com
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
