By: Ken Beckett

BURLINGTON -- On the backs of strong pitching performances, the Guelph Royals shut down the Burlington bats as the Herd fell 8-2 at home on Thursday.

Guelph starting pitcher Yomar Conception was solid on the mound for the Royals, registering eight strikeouts over seven innings of work, giving up five hits and just two earned runs. The win improves the Dominican pitcher's record to 3-5 on the year.

Six of the eight Royals runs scored on Thursday night came courtesy of the home run. With a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Guelph third baseman Chris Procopio hit a three-run home run, his first long ball of the season.

Then in the fifth inning, all-time IBL home run leader Sean Reilly hit a three-run bomb, his tenth of the 2018 campaign. That ties Reilly with the Barrie Baycats' Kevin Atkinson and Tanner Nivins of the Kitchener Panthers for the league lead in home runs.

Justin Gideon was one of the lone bright spots in the Herd lineup on Thursday, going 2-for-3 with a single, double, a run scored, and two stolen bases in the loss. The two swiped bags gave Gideon nine stolen bags on the year. 

Gideon's nine stolen bases in 2018 rank second best on the Herd to Vaughn Bryan, who stole a base on Thursday to pick up his 11th stolen base of the season. With 11 stolen bases this season, Bryan ranks third in the league in that stat category behind R.J. Fuhr of the London Majors who has 12 swiped bags, and the Brantford Red Sox's Wilson Soriano who leads the IBL with 14.

Taking the loss for the Herd is the starting pitcher Casey Howard, who pitched six innings and gave up eight earned runs on seven hits and two walks while registering four strikeouts. The loss drops the right-hander's record to 3-2 this season.

The Herd are back in action on Saturday for a doubleheader against the London Majors. The first game is scheduled for 4PM, with the second game scheduled to begin 45 minutes after the first half of the doubleheader is completed.

If you can’t make it to the game, “The Voice of The Herd” Ken Beckett has the call for the doubleheader and 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.