Sean Reilly is a quiet ballplayer. When he's out on the field, he doesn't yell during play; he doesn't freak out at umpires; he doesn't hurl equipment after getting out.
As the saying goes, Reilly speaks softly and carries a big stick. When he swings the bat, it's like the hammer of Thor. God of Thunder! He doesn't hit baseballs, he decimates them.
This afternoon, Reilly made IBL history by hitting his 17th, 18th and 19th home runs of the season, breaking the league's all-time single season record. The previous record of 17 had stood for 20 years.
Play was halted after the record-breaking home run was hit, so that IBL Commissioner Dr. Stuart Smith could present Reilly with a solid gold world championship belt during a brief on-field ceremony. Indicative of his silent persona, Reilly declined to make any kind of triumphal speech. He calmly handed the belt to a ballboy, and play immediately resumed.
He may be quiet, but Reilly has a flair for the dramatic. His third homer of the day was a walkoff in the bottom of the 9th that gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a 6-5 win over the London Majors. It may have been the excitement of a close win, it may have been heatstroke, but the fans all around the benches and hillsides of Christie Pits went completely wild when it happened. The madness and revelry was reminiscent of Toronto's last walkoff win, over the Barrie Baycats back in June.
While Reilly's record-breaking performance was the story of the day, remember baseball is a team sport and the Maple Leafs got timely hits from Steve Coates and Dan Marra at the bottom of the order, a great start by Marek Deska and a shutdown finish by Adam Garner to help seal the win.
Deska was making his first start for Toronto since taking a short leave to pitch for Poland at the European Baseball Championship Qualifiers at the end of July. One of the club's pitching workhorses, Deska spun his way into the 7th inning and held the Majors to five runs, just enough to set the stage for Reilly's 9th inning heroics.
London will no doubt be left reeling from this devastating defeat, as they battle with Barrie and Kitchener to avoid the #4 spot in the standings and a date with Toronto in the opening round of the post-season. With their pitching and hitting clicking at just the right time, the Maple Leafs are the club everyone wants to avoid.
Recap:
Starters Marek Deska for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Andrew Marck for the London Majors traded perfect 1st innings to start this game, one that was played under mostly sunny skies at Christie Pits.
London first baseman Cleveland Brownlee led off the top of the 2nd with a single. The next man up was rightfielder Adwin Springer, who knocked a two-run home run to give the Majors a 2-0 lead.
Toronto DH Sean Reilly led off the bottom of the inning with a solo home run, his 17th of the year, tying the IBL record set by Randy Curran of the Kitchener Panthers in 1993. Leafs' third baseman Sean Mattson then doubled off Marck, and came in to score on a single by leftfielder Steve Coates. 2-2 after 2 innings.
A pitchers' duel ensued. Deska and Marck swapped scoreless innings in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. The Majors got four hits and the Leafs only one during this stretch of the game.
London second baseman Chris Stewart led off the top of the 7th with a walk. He advanced to second on a botched pickoff attempt by Deska, then moved to third on a putout. Centerfielder Ryan Lapensee then doubled to drive in Stewart and give London the lead again. Brownlee was up next, and he clubbed his 13th home run of the season to end Deska's afternoon. Adam Garner came on in relief, and got out of the inning with no further damage done. The Majors now led 5-2.
Leading off the bottom of the 7th, centerfielder Glenn Jackson reached first base on an error. Reilly then delivered his second home run of the game and 18th of the season, breaking the league single season record and making it a 5-4 game.
With momentum on their side, the Leafs tied it in the bottom of the 8th. Marck was still pitching, and he gave up a single to rightfielder Rob Gillis. Coates followed with his second single of the game, moving Gillis to third base. A sac fly by second baseman Dan Marra brought Gillis home and tied the game 5-5 going into the 9th.
Brownlee led off the top of the 9th by hitting a liner right to shortstop Branfy Arias. Springer singled, but that was all the Majors could scrape off of Garner, who got the next two batters out in order.
The stage was set for Reilly to lead off the bottom of the 9th. He took two pitches from reliever Jacob Raffaele, then blasted his third home run of the game and IBL record 19th of the season. The Maple Leafs benched poured into the home plate circle and greeted Reilly with a spontaneous shower and gang celebration. Reilly's walkoff homer gave Toronto a 6-5 win and concluded a memorable afternoon at the Pits.
The Maple Leafs are now 18-20 and have clinched 5th place in the league standings. Their first-round opponents in the post-season remain unknown, still to be decided between the Barrie Baycats, Kitchener Panthers and London Majors. Toronto next plays a doubleheader in Guelph on August 5, a Holiday Monday epic against the Guelph Royals.
 |
| Reilly HR #17 |
 |
| Reilly HR #18 |
 |
| Reilly HR #19 |
No comments:
Post a Comment