Maple Leafs' Quarterfinals Sked Announced

Sneak your shots of Malibu and pour your overdesigned craft beers, it's playoff time.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will begin the postseason with a quarterfinal series against the Brantford Red Sox. The schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, August 2 at Christie Pits, 7:30 pm

Friday, August 4 at Brantford, 8:00 pm

Sunday, August 6 at Christie Pits, 2:00 pm

Tuesday, August 8 at Brantford, 8:00 pm

Wednesday, August 9 at Christie Pits, 7:30 pm*

Thursday, August 10 at Brantford, 8:00 pm*

Sunday, August 13 at Christie Pits, 2:00 pm*

* if necessary

Maple Leafs 2017 Season Leaderboard

The Toronto Maple Leafs' 2017 regular season is in the books.  

Their 18-18 record was good for 4th place in the IBL standings, their highest finish since 2011.

Zac Orchard has been this season's revelation. The rookie turned it on in the second half of the season and set the pace with a blistering .456 batting average. In addition, Orchard's home run, RBI and OBP numbers will make him a strong contender for the league's Rookie of the Year honours.

On the mound, Justin Cicatello continued to be the staff ace. He led the way in innings pitched, wins, strikeouts and ERA, and will lead the way as the Leafs begin this year's postseason campaign.

And now here is the final club leaderboard.


BATTING LEADERS

ZAC ORCHARD

BATTING AVG.
.456  Z. ORCHARD
.429  D. TOPOLIE
.365  R. WHITE
.363  J. SOLAZZO
.352  D. SZPIK

ON BASE PERCENTAGE
.522  Z. ORCHARD
.513  R. WHITE
.500  T. DARING
.469  J. JOHNSON
.462  D. TOPOLIE

HOME RUNS
5  J. MARRA
5  J. SOLAZZO
4  T. HARDIE
4. Z. ORCHARD
3  D. SZPIK

RBIs
31  J. SOLAZZO
26  J. MARRA
23  T. HARDIE
20  Z. ORCHARD
20  D. SZPIK

WALKS
25  J. MARRA
22  R. WHITE
19  J. SOLAZZO
16  D. MARRA
13  G. TAMANE

STOLEN BASES
4  C. LEWIS
3  G. CARRINGTON
3  D. MARRA
2  J. MARRA
2  D. SZPIK
2  R. WHITE



PITCHING LEADERS


JUSTIN CICATELLO

WINS
3  J. CICATELLO
2  T. CAUGHEY
2  P. DE LOS SANTOS
2  Z. SLOAN
(6 pitchers tied with 1 each)

ERA (STARTERS)
3.47  J. CICATELLO
3.74  M. DESKA
4.97  A. SIMONETTI

ERA (RELIEVERS)
0.00  J. SOLAZZO
3.10  A. GARNER
4.15  N. MORRIS

INNINGS PITCHED
57.0  J. CICATELLO
41.2  A. SIMONETTI
31.2  P. DE LOS SANTOS
31.0  Z. SLOAN
25.0  T. CAUGHEY

STRIKEOUTS
35  J. CICATELLO
31  P. DE LOS SANTOS
25  A. SIMONETTI
22  T. CAUGHEY
17  Z. SLOAN

SAVES
1  J. CICATELLO
1  P. DE LOS SANTOS
1  A. MERCER
1  A. SIMONETTI
1  J. SOLAZZO


Finishing Touches

Game 36: London Majors at Toronto Maple Leafs, July 30, 2017

Majors win 13-10 
(End of regular season)

Bring on the playoffs.

On a hot and sticky afternoon at Christie Pits, the Toronto Maple Leafs and London Majors played out the end of the regular season.

Both ballclubs took turns teeing off on each other in a meaningless game, everybody played nice, and in the end London took a 13-10 win.

The Leafs rested several regulars today, moved some others to unfamiliar positions, and let a couple of junior callups get in some plate appearances.

One day after Chris Procopio hit two home runs in his Christie Pits debut, Mike Cecchetto (above) did the same. Cecchetto launched a pair of bombs and went 2-for-4 with 5 RBIs on the afternoon.

Tyler Hardie racked up 3 RBIs, Justin Marra got one, and Damon Topolie continued turning back the clock as he went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Brett Sabourin earned the win in relief while Andrew Simonetti took the loss. And that's that.


London 13-12-1
Toronto 10-15-4

W - Sabourin (2-0, 2.16)
L - Simonetti (1-5, 4.96)
S - Reichstein (1)


BOXSCORE


The Maple Leafs finish the 2017 season in 4th place in the IBL standings with an 18-18 record. They will face the Brantford Red Sox in the opening round of the postseason. Full schedule will be posted when available.

Light Tower Power

Game 29 (rescheduled rainout): Barrie Baycats at Toronto Maple Leafs, July 29, 2017

Leafs win 26-10

Fans at Christie Pits were treated to a home run derby and then some last night.

The Toronto Maple Leafs pounded out 30 hits off Barrie Baycats pitching en route to a 26-10 victory.

As all manner of ballclub historians, statisticians and rogue scorekeepers scrambled to check their reference books against the offensive performance, folks on the hillsides enjoyed the sight of one home run after another leaving the park.

Where to begin? Johnathan Solazzo launched three -- three! -- missiles over the fence on a 6-hit, 7-RBI night. 

His gargantuan feat was almost eclipsed by junior team callup Chris Procopio. 

Filling in at catcher, Procopio belted his first career home run in the sixth. After crossing home plate, he was duly ignored by his teammates as per baseball tradition. One inning later, Procopio's second blast of the night could not be ignored. He smashed one off the light tower in left field. Bulbs exploded, flames showered down, trees fell over.  The Leafs bench joined everyone at the Pits in sounding their admiration for the feat.

The final boxscore is littered with unfamiliar numbers. 4-for-6 nights, 6-for-7 nights. RBIs by the sevens, fives and threes.

The complete list of batters who hit home runs for the Leafs last night is surreal:

- Johnathan Solazzo (3)
- Chris Procopio (2)
- Zac Orchard (2)
- Daniel Szpik (1)
- Dan Gibbons (1)
- Alan Ross (1)
- Neil Srivastava (1)
- at least two of the Marra brothers (1 each)

Everybody got in on the action. Superfan Janice did not homer last night, but her stand-up triple in the bottom of the eighth was a thing of beauty.

On the mound, Nate Morris kept the Baycats in check for five innings before turning it over to Pedro De Los Santos to finish off the game. The Leafs are closing out the season with the league's hottest win streak, and approach the postseason with a full head of steam.


Barrie 10-13-3
Toronto 26-30-0

W - Morris (1-0, 10.80)
L - Lawson (3-1, 7.39)
S - De Los Santos (1)


BOXSCORE


The 18-17 Leafs remain the only club in the IBL to have defeated the Baycats -- twice now. They have clinched 4th place in the league standings, and home field for their upcoming quarterfinal series against the Brantford Red Sox. They close out the regular season this afternoon at the Pits against the London Majors. It's Fan Appreciation Day and first pitch is 2:00 pm.