Today the IBL officially announced its 2014 playoffs format - in which the 8th place team misses the postseason, while everyone else gets a shot at the Dominico Cup.
One could argue that it looks like Hamilton and Burlington will be battling to see who avoids being hindmost at season's end. In recent seasons, both clubs have toiled at the bottom of the standings. At the start of the day, both clubs were tied for last place, with some space opening up between them and everyone above.
Every club with a hope of winning the championship will know that they've got to beat the Hamiltons and Burlingtons of the IBL in order to stay ahead.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been doing just that, beating the Cardinals and Bandits a total of four times so far.
Today, they let one slip away under the sunny skies at Christie Pits.
Justin Lawrence made his first start of the season for the home side. The visiting Cardinals knocked him around for four runs in the first couple of innings. Lawrence settled down after that, and James Trebus pitched three scoreless innings to finish the game, but the Leafs' offence was unable to overcome the early deficit.
Both teams managed six hits apiece. Raul Borjas got a couple, and Grant Tamane, Jon Waltenbury, Dan Marra and Damon Topolie each got one. Topolie's hit was a solo home run leading off the 2nd inning. Waltenbury singled in the other run in the 6th, but that was all the scoring the Leafs would do on the day.
Back to .500, the Leafs have a tough stretch ahead, with games against Kitchener, Barrie and two against Brantford before facing Hamilton again in a couple of weeks.
Game Recap:
The Hamilton Cardinals jumped on Toronto Maple Leafs starter Justin Lawrence to start this game. Centerfielder Andris Rizquez singled to start the game, and shortstop Chris Beer hit a home run over the fence in left field for a quick 2-0 Hamilton lead.
The Cardinals doubled their lead in the 2nd. Lawrence gave up a leadoff walk to second baseman Jon Saporsantos. A potential double play was mishandled for an error, and Saporsantos took second as catcher Zack Sardellitti reached first. A groundout moved both runners up a base, and they scored on a single by Andris Rizquez to make it 4-0 Cardinals.
Player-manager Damon Topolie led off the bottom of the 2nd with a solo home run that made it 4-1 Cardinals.
The Leafs went scoreless through the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings as Hamilton starter Taylor Bratton limited them to just three hits to that point. In the bottom of the 6th, catcher Grant Tamane drew a walk off Bratton. Tamane scurried to third base on a single by leftfielder Raul Borjas, and scored on a single by DH Jon Waltenbury. After the 6th, it was 4-2 Cardinals.
Over the next three innings, Matt Betts, Tanner Guindon and Tomas Rincon kept the Leafs from scoring any more, as the home side managed just one more hit. The game ended 4-2 and Rincon got the save for Bratton.
Hamilton 4-6-1
Toronto 2-6-2
W - Bratton (2-1)
L - Lawrence (2-2)
S - Rincon (1)
BOXSCORE
The Maple Leafs are now 8-8 and down to fourth place in the IBL standings, 4.5 games behind the Barrie Baycats. Their next game is on June 19 at Jack Couch Park against the Kitchener Panthers.
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