The Welland Jackfish don’t have much time to enjoy their quarter-final series win over the Kitchener Panthers.

The defending Intercounty Baseball League champions topped the Panthers 11-5 Tuesday night to take the best-of-five quarter-final series 3-1 and are already preparing to face the Guelph Royals in a best-of-five semifinal beginning Thursday night in Welland.

“Ideally, to get another day or two off would have been great but on the flip side of that, we’re built to play multiple games, multiple days. We have the pitching and depth in our lineup,” Jackfish manager Brian Essery said.

The Jackfish were upset in Game 1 of the quarter-final 3-2 in extra innings before regrouping to win three straight games, all in convincing fashion.

“Definitely a wake-up call,” Essery said. “Nothing was going to be handed to us and we know that going through the rigours of the playoffs the last two, three seasons when we’ve been in the semifinals and finally broke through last year and won. 

“We know how hard it is to win.”

The Jackfish’s normally potent lineup was silent in Game 1 before breaking out with 41 runs in the final three games.

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