By: Ken Beckett

BURLINGTON -- In a back and forth battle that saw the lead change hands three times, the Burlington Herd picked up a 7-6 win over the Hamilton Cardinals on Thursday night to take the 2018 Skyway Series lead.

The Herd jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after the second inning, able to capitalize on two Hamilton errors in the first two innings when Mattingly Romanin scored in the first on a throwing error to second base by Cards catcher Greg Marco. Then in the second inning, Burlington designated hitter Reese O'Farrell got on base thanks to on an error charged to Hamilton first baseman Grant Arnold and then scored on a Nolan Pettipiece sacrific fly. From there, Justin Gideon drove in catcher Jon Thibodeau with an RBI double, and was able to score later on in that second frame on two wild pitches by Hamilton starter Zach Gonazelz to put the Herd up by four runs.

Hamilton got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when with the bases loaded, Cardinals centerfielder Jake Foden hit a bases clearing double to make it a 4-3 ball game. The score would be tied at 4 in the 5th inning thanks to a solo blast from Grant Arnold, his second home run of the season.

Reclaiming the lead for the Herd in the top of the sixth inning was Robbie Cant who came in as a defensive substitution for Tyler Patzalek in the fourth inning. In his first at bat of the ball game, Cant stepped up and hit an RBI double which scored left fielder Canice Ejoh to put Burlington back on top.

It was in the sixth inning when the Cardinals took over the lead for the first time thanks to a two-run double from shortstop Chris Beer to put Hamilton on top 6-5.

That lead would last until the top of the 8th inning when Romanin scored on an errant pick-off throw to first base by reliever Josh Freeman to tie the ball game. Then Cant collected his second hit of the ball game with an RBI double which scored Ejoh to put the Herd up for good with a 7-6 lead.

Burlington scored seven runs on six hits, thanks in part to three errors committed by the Cardinals. Earning the win on the mound was reliever Tyler Herr who pitched 3.1 innings of work, giving up just two hits to go along with no walks and four strikeouts. The win improves Herr's record to 2-0 on the year to go along with a miniscule 0.84 ERA.

Taking the loss for the Cardinals was reliever Arman Lakhani, who came in during the top of the 8th inning and walked both batters he faced in Romanin and Vaughn Bryan. The loss drops Lakhani's record to 0-3 in 2018.

Burlington are back in action on Friday night as they travel to Brantford to take on the Red Sox. The Herd are back in action at home on Saturday afternoon as they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Nelson Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05PM and tickets are available at IBLHerd.com.

If you can’t make it to the game, “The Voice of The Herd” Ken Beckett has the call for all Herd home games on Mixlr.com/IBLHerd. For live-game broadcasts, interviews, player profiles, game previews, and recaps, follow Ken on Twitter at @KenBeckett.

The Burlington Herd are a member of Ontario's most elite baseball league, the Intercounty Baseball League. The 100-year old summer league is one of the oldest baseball leagues in the world, with the league established in 1919, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. For more information, visit www.iblherd.com or follow the Herd on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @IBLHerd.