I arrived at Jack Couch Park last night to find one baseball team on the brink of elimination, and another on the verge of winning their first round playoff series.
But what I saw was interesting. Several Kitchener Panthers were clacking around the clubhouse building with tense looks on their faces, mouths twisted tight. Out in right field, the Toronto Maple Leafs were having a calm, relaxed warmup. Some jokey banter seen earlier in the day on Twitter carried with them to the ballpark.
One team was edgy, the other was loose. Guess what happened.
Jon Waltenbury, aka "DJ Wally" led the Leafs hit parade, blasting two home runs and a double as he racked up seven RBIs on the night. Raul Borjas was right behind him with four hits and five RBIs. Borjas also climbed the wall in left field to haul in what was a sure home run, and shut down a Panthers rally in the 5th inning.
In total, the Maple Leafs clanged out 15 hits in a 17-11 win that takes this series to a sixth game. That's solid gold.
The Panthers actually got one more hit than Toronto, but pitchers Adam Garner and Jas Shergill combined for seven and three innings respectively to limit the damage and pull out the win.
One thing is for sure: this series has seen the Maple Leafs and Panthers wail away on each other like nobody's business. The way it's been going, they could break the all time scoring record for any series in the history of baseball, ever.*
Wednesday night's defeat at Christie Pits was kind of jarring. It didn't sink in until the game had ended that it might have been the Leafs' final home game of the season. As the players trudged to the clubhouse and fans vanished into the night, I lingered behind the home bench, not wanting to leave. I wasn't ready to leave. I hoped we would get at least one more game at the Pits this year. I moped about it all day yesterday.
And the Leafs have delivered. The Christie Crazies will be back together one more time, and who knows, maybe there are still more games to come in this crazy-ass season.
It all starts tomorrow night, with Saturday Night's Main Event.
* I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Recap:
The Kitchener Panthers sent Mike McGillivray out to the mound to start this game, and he put the Toronto Maple Leafs away easy in the 1st.
Adam Garner did not fare as well in the bottom of the inning. The Leafs starter gave up a home run to leadoff man Mike Andrulis. A double by first baseman Mitch Delaney led to another run, after he was driven in on a single by centerfielder Tanner Nivins. Kitchener led 2-0 after the 1st inning.
McGillivray pitched a scoreless 2nd inning, then the Panthers scored two more. A leadoff double by Bryon Bell was followed by an RBI single by catcher Rick Murray. Shortstop Mike Glinka drove in another run on a single and the Leafs were on the ropes early, down 4-0 after two innings.
The game took a sudden turn in the top of the 3rd. Rightfielder Steve Coates led off with a single, then shortstop Branfy Arias reached first on a fielder's choice that erased Coates. Centerfielder Glenn Jackson then drew a walk. Arias and Jackson both scored on a single by leftfielder Raul Borjas. Then, with a full count, first baseman Jon Waltenbury blasted a home run to make it a whole new ballgame, tied 4-4 after the 3rd.
Borjas and Waltenbury inflicted more damage in the next inning. With two outs, Coates and Arias both singled and Jackson drew another walk. Borjas drove in the first two with a single, and then Waltenbury blasted another home run, this one good for three more runs. The Leafs led 9-4 after the 4th.
Some sloppy play by the Panthers led to another Leafs run in the 5th. An error by Glinka allowed third baseman Sean Mattson to reach first, then an error by third baseman Mat Taube allowed catcher Damon Topolie to get all the way to second, Mattson taking third. A single by second baseman Dan Marra drove in Mattson and knocked McGillivray out of the game with a 10-4 score. Topolie came home from third on a groundout by Coates to make it 11-4.
Garner had settled down after the first couple of rough innings, but he was tagged for a two-run homer by Delaney that made it 11-6 Leafs after 5 innings.
The Leafs added another run in the next inning. Jackson doubled and was driven in by DH Sean Reilly, making it 12-6 after the 6th.
Matt Vickers replaced Mike Gatchene on the mound to start the 7th for Kitchener, but he got kicked around. Topolie doubled and Marra walked. Topolie then scored on a single by Arias. An error by the shortstop then allowed Jackson to reach second while Marra scored. The Borjas-Waltenbury tandem returned and they each drove in another run, making it 16-6 Leafs.
Jas Shergill relieved Garner and he pitched a scoreless 7th.
Rightfielder Darnell Duckett drove in a run to make it 16-7 going into the 9th inning.
Waltenbury drew a bases loaded walk that made it 17-7.
The Panthers got to Shergill for four runs in the bottom of the 9th, but it was too little too late. Shergill slammed the door on his three-inning save, preserving the win for Garner with a 17-11 final score.
The series is now 3-2 for the Panthers. Game Six will be played Saturday night, August 17 at Christie Pits.
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