LONDON, Ont. – Jordan Townshend made sure that the Western Mustangs’ return home was a successful one.

Playing at Labatt Park for the first time in 12 days following a long road trip, the Mustangs got a dominant performance Thursday night from staff ace Townshend, who held the McMaster Marauders to just two hits over eight innings in a 5-0 win.

The left-hander struck out four of the first six batters he faced and finished with 11 strikeouts on the evening, a 110-pitch effort that resulted in his third win of the season.

“I was able to get ahead of batters this game,” Townshend said following the win. “That’s my biggest thing I try to work on, and it was working well today. I make it easier on myself when I do that, and it’s easier for the team. And it lowers my pitch count too.”

Townshend, who gave up just two walks and a Matt Cino single through six innings, was also quick to credit has batterymate, catcher Kyle Harris.

“Me and Harris were really keeping them off balance with the pitch calling,” he said. “He was doing a great job with that. They really didn’t seem comfortable all game, which definitely makes it easier to get a couple K’s.”

The Mustangs got on the board early for Townshend, as Rob Wakefield connected for an RBI double to centre to cash in Harris for a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Western then extended its lead to 3-0 in the third thanks to a pair of Marauder errors and a Bruce Craine RBI double.

The Mustangs rallied again in the sixth, loading the bases with one out. The Marauders then turned to reliever Adam O’Brodovich, who struck out Shawn Robinson and got ahead 0-2 to leadoff hitter Andrew Salmon. But after fouling off another fastball, Salmon drilled a curveball for a clutch two-out single to score Ian Campbell and Andrew Thomson, giving Western a 5-0 lead.

“I was looking for a pitch that I really wanted to drive somewhere hard,” said Salmon, who finished 3-for-5 with a double, a pair of RBIs and a run scored. “He got me with two good pitches right on the outside corner. So I knew that I was in a hole. I knew it [the curveball] was coming, and I ripped it up the middle.”

That type of hitting in key situations is an area in which the Mustangs are improving.

“A couple times tonight we were down in the count, but just battled,” said Western manager Mike Lumley. “We had a couple key hits in the game. That’s the thing that we weren’t doing early in the season that we’re doing now. We’re taking good swings at pitches, and we’re not getting too anxious at pitches. We’re just getting good quality swings, and we’re concentrating better with guys in scoring position.”

With a record of 10-4, the Mustangs sit at the top of the OUA standings, ahead of Brock (7-4), McMaster (7-5) and Laurier (7-5).

The club will travel across the border this weekend to play a pair of exhibition games again Madonna University on Saturday, Sept. 26. The Mustangs will return to OUA action next week when they will host the Waterloo Warriors at Labatt Park on Wednesday, Sept. 30. First pitch is set for 7:05 pm, and the game will be televised on Rogers TV, Cable 13.