Leafs win 18-6
There was a rain delay during game five of this semi-final series up in Barrie a couple of nights ago. It happened midway through the fifth inning, while the Toronto Maple Leafs were losing to the Barrie Baycats, 4-2.
At one point during the almost 90-minute stoppage, I found myself standing with Grant Tamane behind the visitors' dugout.
We chatted idly. He munched a banana. I held an umbrella.
Christian Botnick emerged from the dugout and approached.
"'Leafs Surge for the Win,'" he said. "That's your next headline."
"Nice!" we replied. "Dirty!"
As it turned out, that headline went unused after game five. Instead, the Leafs saved their surge for game six at Christie Pits last night. Facing elimination, they exploded for 23 hits - including six home runs - en route to an 18-6 victory. The win forces a game seven, to be played in Barrie later tonight.
I could spend this entire post talking about the home runs the Leafs hit last night. Will Richards broke the ice with a screaming liner to right in the second inning. Tyler Mitchell, who hit one home run in the entire regular season, blasted two on the night - worth four RBIs. Johnathan Solazzo hit one of the highest homers ever seen at the Pits, blitzing the light tower in center-right. Topping it off was a pair of home runs by Jon Waltenbury (above), including a grand slam that hit the roof of the snack bar beyond dead center.
On the mound, Justin Cicatello put in another "cult hero" performance. He went the full nine innings - his third complete game of this post-season. He gave up six runs, but with Toronto scoring left and right, it was more than enough to win this game.
As for the series, it now comes down to a single game. The Maple Leafs have already torn up the script of this post-season. Sports fans know that anything can happen in a deciding game. The Leafs have bucked the odds to this point. Soon we will find out if they will continue this amazing run.
Game Recap:
The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Barrie Baycats on a mostly clear but muggy evening at Christie Pits. Having won game five the night before, the visitors were one win away from a return trip to the IBL Championship Series. Justin Cicatello made the start for the home side, matched up against Brett Lawson for Barrie.
Both sides went scoreless until the bottom of the second. With one out and facing Lawson, catcher Will Richards hit a solo home run. Centerfielder Tyler Mitchell followed that with a double. A single by shortstop Connor Lewis drove him home and made it 2-0 Leafs after two.
Cicatello and Lawson both pitched 1-2-3 innings in the third.
Barrie's bats woke up in the top of the 4th. Rightfielder Ryan Spataro singled to lead off, then stole second base. First baseman Jordan Castaldo singled, then a walk to leftfielder Steve Lewis loaded the bases. An excuse-me infield single by DH Jeremy Walker moved everyone up a base and scored Spataro. Second baseman Jeff Cowan then singled to drive in both Castaldo and Lewis. That gave Barrie a 3-2 lead midway through the fourth.
The Leafs' bats exploded in the bottom half of the inning. Leftfielder Raul Borjas led things off with a double off of Lawson. Richards singled next, and then Mitchell hit a three-run home run to clear the bases. Not for long, though, as DH Brendan Keys singled. A couple of errors saw Lewis and rightfielder Grant Tamane reach safely to load the bases. A single by second baseman Dan Marra moved everyone up a run and scored Keys. First baseman Jon Waltenbury was up next. He continued his season-long vendetta against the Leafs' snack bar in centerfield, launching the first pitch from Lawson high over centerfield. It cleared the fence and thudded off the roof of the snack bar. Grand slam. No sooner had the bases emptied than third baseman Johnathan Solazzo blasted another first pitch from Lawson high into the evening sky. The home run shot was about as high as the light tower in center-right, and it ended Lawson's night after just three-plus innings. Ryan Beckett came in to record three outs and get Barrie out of the inning, but it was now 11-3 Leafs through four innings.
The home side added two more runs in the bottom of the 5th inning. Marra singled with two outs, and then Waltenbury crushed a pitch by Beckett for a two-run home run. 13-3 Leafs after five.
Barrie fought back in the 6th. Castaldo led off with a solo home run off Cicatello. Walker reached first on an error, advanced to second on a single by Jeff Cowan, and both men scored on a single by shortstop Branfy Arias. 13-6 Leafs midway through six.
Tyler Mitchell hit his second home run of the game in the bottom of the sixth, giving Toronto a 14-6 lead through six innings.
No lead is safe at the Pits, so the home nine kept at it. Waltenbury reached on a walk by Beckett, as did Solazzo. Waltenbury advanced to third on a fielder's choice by Borjas, then scored on an error to make it 15-6 Leafs.
Cicatello continued rolling through the Baycats' order, and Chris England relieved Beckett on the mound for Barrie in the bottom of the 8th. Mitchell and Keys each singled to start off. Lewis then hit a double that drove in Mitchell. A putout by Tamane scored Keys, and then a single by Marra drove home Lewis. 18-6 Leafs through eight.
Facing the meat of the Barrie order in the ninth, Cicatello gave up just a walk before recording the final out of the inning and nailing down the 18-6 final.
Barrie 6-11-3
Toronto 18-23-2
W - Cicatello (3-0, 4.64)
L - Lawson (1-2, 9.91)
BOXSCORE
We are going to game seven. The deciding game of this back-and-forth series will go later tonight at Coates Stadium, home of the Baycats.
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