Cardinals win 10-8
Bats were slammed, helmets were hurled, expletives were barked.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made no effort to conceal their frustrations at the end of a tough 10-8 loss to the Hamilton Cardinals at Bernie Arbour Stadium last night.
It was a night of rallies as both teams exchanged big innings. Cardinals with four, Leafs with five. The game unraveled for the Leafs in the bottom of the 7th, when the home side rallied for another five runs to take the lead for good.
Justin Marra drove in a pair of runs for the Leafs, with Grant Tamane, Brendan Keys, Damon Topolie and Ryan White driving in one each. White led the way with three of the Leafs' 13 hits on the night.
Player-Manager Topolie's single in the second inning was career hit number 710, and he sits in 4th place on the IBL's all-time hits list.
Video clip courtesy of the Hamilton Cardinals.
Game Recap:
The Hamilton Cardinals welcomed the Toronto Maple Leafs to Bernie Arbour Stadium on the mountain last night. Chris Lazar made the start for the Redbirds against David Ertl for the Leafs.
Ertl was tagged early and the Cardinals jumped out to an early lead. Centerfielder Jake Osborne led off with a double. He moved to second on a putout, then scored on a fielding error by Ertl on a dribbler that allowed catcher Tyler Hardie to reach first base safely. Hardie then scored on a triple by rightfielder Dre Celestijn. A double by DH Chris Beer scored Celestijn, and a single by first baseman TJ Baker scored Beer. When the smoke cleared after the bombardment, the Cards led 4-0.
The Leafs returned fire in the top of the 3rd with a rally of their own. Rightfielder Troy Daring led off with a single, but was out at second on a fielder's choice by centerfielder Connor Lewis. Lewis then stole second. Leftfielder Grant Tamane followed with a walk. A double steal put Lewis on third and Tamane on second. Catcher Justin Marra then drove them both in with a single. Second baseman Dan Marra singled next, as did shortstop Ryan White, who drove in Justin Marra with his hit. First baseman Damon Topolie drove in Dan Marra with career hit number 710. DH Brendan Keys continued the hit parade with a single that scored White. After sending 10 men to the plate, the Leafs led 5-4 after three innings.
The Leafs added to their lead when Lewis doubled to lead off the 4th inning. Tamane drove him in with his first triple of the season. 6-4 Leafs through four.
Both clubs exchanged runs in the 5th inning. White led off with a single, advanced to second on a groundout, advanced to third on a groundout, then raced home to score on a passed ball. 7-4 Leafs midway through the 5th.
Hardie singled to lead off the bottom of the inning. He moved to second on a passed ball, to third on a wild pitch, then scored when Baker hit into a fielder's choice. 7-5 Leafs through five.
Justin Marra drew a walk off reliever Russ Burroughs to start the top of the 7th. Burroughs was replaced by Benson Merritt, who promptly uncorked a pitch that hit Dan Marra on the helmet. Dan was alright and took first base as Justin moved to second. Justin moved to third on a flyball out to rightfield by White. Topolie was up next, and he hit a sac fly to drive in Justin and make it 8-5 Leafs midway through seven.
The game got away from Toronto in the bottom of the 7th as the Cards sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs. Adam Marra started the inning in relief of Ertl. He gave up a single to shortstop Callum Murphy, hit Hardie with a pitch, and gave up another single to Celestijn to load the bases. Beer flew out to left field and the baserunners stayed put. A fielder's choice by Baker eliminated Celestijn at second but allowed Murphy to score. Leftfielder Jake Foden followed with a single that plated Hardie. Third baseman Jason deVos then singled to centerfield, scoring Baker. When the ball returned to the infield, Leafs third baseman Johnathan Solazzo threw a ball past Topolie that allowed Foden to score as well. A single by second baseman Geoffrey Seto scored deVos and when it was all said and done, Hamilton had taken a 10-8 lead after seven innings of play.
A walk by Tamane in the 8th and a single by Dan Marra in the 9th was all the offence the Leafs could muster in the final innings. Merritt hung on to finish the game and secure the 10-8 victory for the Cardinals.
Toronto 8-13-2
Hamilton 10-14-0
W - Merritt (1-1, 4.98)
L - A Marra (0-1, 18.00)
BOXSCORE
The 6-5 Maple Leafs drop to 4th place in the IBL standings with the loss. They will look to get right back on track this afternoon when they visit the Burlington Bandits at Nelson Park.
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