2021 IBL Semifinals - Game 2, September 18 - Toronto Maple Leafs at Barrie Baycats
Leafs win 13-11, and win the series 2-0
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| Marcus Knecht (second from left) whoops it up after crushing a first inning grand slam Saturday afternoon in Barrie. Scenes of celebration were aplenty as the Leafs swept the Baycats. |
The Toronto Maple Leafs have buried the Baycats.
On Saturday night at Coates Stadium in Barrie, the Leafs plowed right through that stone monolith that has stood in their path for so many seasons, winning a blowout-nailbiter 13-11.
The win secured a sweep of the best-of-three semifinal series and punched the Leafs' ticket to the finals.
The Leafs took the lead after just two pitches, when first baseman Jordan Castaldo smashed a home run off Barrie starter Juan Benitez. The lead stretched to 5-0 after right fielder Marcus Knecht hit a grand slam that stunned the packed stadium.
With Benitez on the ropes, the Leafs piled it on in the 2nd with four more hits. Castaldo and DH Sean Reilly each doubled in a run, and a sacrifice fly by Knecht made it 8-0 Leafs after two innings. The stadium continued to be stunned.
Benitez was one of the IBL's top starters in 2021. He won five of his 10 regular season starts and his 3.04 ERA was third-best in the league. But that starter was nowhere to be seen on this day.
In the top of the 3rd inning, the Leafs delivered a knockout blow. A single by shortstop Dan Marra and a walk to Castaldo ended the Baycat starter's day after 2.2 innings. Reilly drove both baserunners home, sticking 10 earned runs beside Benitez's name.
In the bottom of the 3rd, the Baycats scratched out one run off Toronto starter Justin Cicatello, but an "end of an era" vibe began to settle over the ballpark.
Cicatello put goose eggs on the scoreboard in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings. As each inning passed, the sun sank lower in the sky as if in concert with the end of the Baycats 2014-2019 dynasty.
The Leafs tacked on another run in the top of the 6th, when Reilly detonated a pitch by reliever Riley Hoover. The ball flew out of the park, over the trees beyond the fence, and quite possibly landed on Highway 26. Fans, players, everyone was stunned this time. Everyone except Reilly, who trotted around the bases, silent and stoic and happy to let his game do the talking. In this postseason, Sean Reilly is batting like a video game version of Sean Reilly with three home runs, 11 RBIs and an LOL batting average of .750.
After six innings, it was 11-1 Leafs. The end was drawing near. Barrie's PA announcer reached that har-dee-har point of the game where he implored Baycats fans to hang in there and cheer on the greatest comeback in baseball history. Oh har-dee-har!
Cicatello was done after six innings and the bullpen took over. For Toronto fans the game suddenly became a horror movie. The Mapes relievers struggled. Adam Marra and Mateos Kekatos laboured to get six outs between them, surrendering 12 hits, three walks and 10 runs. Each time it looked like the Baycats were down for good, they reared up like the monster that would not die.
By the 9th inning, the har-dee-har comeback was real and terrifying. Damon Topolie had seen enough and called for his closer. Six-foot-six Dustin Richardson emerged from the bullpen, very tall, very calm. He got one batter out by stabbing a comebacker at his feet. He got the next batter out with a strikeout. The next man up hit a grounder to second baseman Grant Tamane, who tossed it to Castaldo at first. Game over. Dynasty over. The sun dipped below the horizon.
An early blowout turned into a late-inning nailbiter, but Richardson secured the 13-11 final and his second save of the postseason.
The Leafs finally killed off the horror movie monster that has haunted them for too long. They swept the semifinal series in two games, and will meet the London Majors in the IBL Championship Series that starts next week.
Barrie 11 22 1
W - Cicatello (2-0, 0.69)
L - Benitez (1-1, 11.57)
S - Richardson (2)
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