Damp Interlude

Game 18: Toronto Maple Leafs vs Hamilton Cardinals at Welland Stadium, June 22, 2018

Cardinals win 8-4 (in seven innings)

The tarps were out.

A few dozen remaining fans clustered on the spacious, covered concourse of Welland Stadium.

The Hamilton Cardinals huddled in their dugout, awaiting the inevitable.

Outside the visitors' dugout, Dan and Justin Marra worked on pitching motions.

Out in the murk, Marek Deska got in some cardio, running the outfield from foul pole to foul pole. He's the blurry figure above.

Other members of the Toronto Maple Leafs trudged to the clubhouse to get out of the rain. What began as a drizzle in the third inning had become heavier and steadier as Friday night wore on.

As ten o'clock rolled around, everyone waited.

Despite the rain, the field looked like it had been holding up well. No puddles on the basepaths, no pitchers sliding off the mound, no one visibly complaining about conditions. That did not stop the umpires from abruptly pulling the plug at the end of the seventh inning. After a brief examination of the dirt in and around the batter's box, they decided that the game should not continue. Toronto manager Damon Topolie emerged to dispute the hasty termination of the contest. After some discussion, the stadium crew pulled out the tarps and the umps vanished into their dressing room.

During the delay, both clubs' managers paid them visits. Whatever conferences took place were not drawn out. By a quarter after ten, the end of the game was confirmed and Hamilton made off with an 8-4 victory.

The game had started well for the Leafs. 

Shortstop Adam Odd and leftfielder Greg Carrington each drove in a run in the top of the second to hand Deska an early 2-0 lead. Deska opened the game by pitching two perfect innings.

Toronto doubled its lead in the top of the third. First baseman Mike Reeves led off with a double off the right field wall. He moved to third on a single by second baseman Dan Marra, who went on to steal second. Reeves then scored on a groundout by catcher Justin Marra. Centerfielder Marcus Knecht followed with a double that drove in Dan Marra. 4-0 Leafs midway through the third.

The Cardinals powered back to tie the game in the bottom of the third. A leadoff triple by Joel Brophy got them started. Brophy then dashed home after one pitch to the next batter, when Justin Marra made an errant throw back to the mound and it got away from Deska. The Cards went on to rack up four runs off of five hits in the inning, making it a 4-4 game.

As the weather got sloppy, so did the Leafs. Their Achilles heel -- errors -- hit them hard in the bottom of the fifth. They committed three errors, which helped Hamilton put three more runs on the board for a 7-4 lead.

After grinding through six innings, Deska turned the ball over to Jackson Jones, who gave up one more run to the Redbirds. With the score 8-4 through seven innings, the umpires decided that neither the field nor the weather would improve, and the game was called. After some disputes and closed-door discussions, the decision was confirmed and Hamilton awarded the rain-shortened victory.

The game turned out to be the only one that the Leafs would play this past weekend. Games against Burlington on Saturday and Kitchener yesterday were both rained out.


Toronto 4-8-4
Hamilton 8-8-2
(in seven innings)

W - Johnson-Battilana (1-0, 3.85)
L - Deska (1-2, 5.64)
S - Wood (1)


BOXSCORE


Most of the IBL schedule ended up getting washed away this weekend. The Leafs are currently in 4th place in the IBL standings with a 10-7 record, 2 games behind the Kitchener Panthers. Their next scheduled game is this Wednesday night at Christie Pits against the Barrie Baycats.