Maple Leafs win 13-3
A one-man gang by the name of Johnathan Solazzo rolled into Bernie Arbour Stadium last night and laid a beating on the Hamilton Cardinals.
Solazzo went 4 for 5 including a home run and two doubles. He scored three runs and drove in three more.
His Toronto Maple Leaf teammates could have taken the night off as the hard-slugging third baseman did the job all by himself. Instead, they ganged up on the Redbirds for a total of 13 runs off of 18 hits.
Damon Topolie got three hits and a couple of RBIs. Sean Mattson also got three hits. Jon Waltenbury hit a pair and scored three times.
On the mound, Justin Cicatello stymied the Cards over five innings. He limited them to just two hits and a run. Newcomer Mike Wagner pitched the final four innings and earned a save.
It was a rough night for the home nine. They were marked for three errors, but some sloppy plays kept the boys in blue circling the basepaths all night. Toronto put the game away with One Big Inning (eight runs in the third), leaving Hamilton fans with little to cheer about. They responded with some sassy Bronx cheers the rest of the night. Gotta stay entertained.
Game Recap:
It was a sunny summer evening as the Hamilton Cardinals hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bernie Arbour Stadium on the mountain. Chris Lazar started on the mound against Justin Cicatello.
Lazar got two outs to start the first inning, but then gave up consecutive singles to Toronto right fielder Jon Waltenbury, DH Sean Mattson and catcher Will Richards. The hit by Richards drove in Waltenbury to make it 1-0 for the Leafs after one inning of play.
Leading off the top of the 2nd inning, third baseman Johnathan Solazzo blasted a Lazar pitch for a home run to make it 2-0 for the visitors.
The game unravelled for Hamilton in the top of the 3rd. Toronto sent 12 men to the plate, scored eight runs and knocked Lazar out of the game. Waltenbury led off with a single and Mattson followed with a double. A single by second baseman Dan Marra scored Waltenbury. Solazzo struck again with another blast that bounced over the centerfield fence for a ground rule double. Mattson scored on the play. First baseman Damon Topolie was up next, and he hit a single to left field that plated Marra and Solazzo. Shortstop Ryan White kept the line moving with a single. Centerfielder Connor Lewis smashed a double to score Topolie and end Lazar's night. He was relieved by Rhys Tapper. Waltenbury reached first base on an error, allowing White and Lewis to score. A flyball by Mattson was misplayed for another error in centerfield, and Waltenbury crossed home plate to make it 10-0 Leafs after the 3rd inning.
Cicatello cruised along into the 5th inning, when he encountered his only spell of bother. He gave up a leadoff double to DH Chris Beer, followed by a walk to first baseman TJ Baker. He hit leftfielder Nate Mastervick with a pitch to load the bases. A groundout at first by second baseman David Vanderby brought Beer in to score and make it 10-1 Leafs through five.
Mike Wagner came in to pitch for the Leafs in the bottom of the 6th.
The Cardinals scored a run in the bottom of the 7th. Beer was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Pinch hitter Luke Molleson singled next. Beer moved to third on a fielder's choice hit by shortstop Geoffrey Seto, and a sac fly by Mastervick brought him in to score. That made it 10-2 Leafs through seven.
Jake Foden relieved Tapper on the mound for Hamilton to start the 8th. Foden walked Richards, then gave up an RBI double to Solazzo. A single by Topolie scored Solazzo and made it 12-2 Leafs after eight innings.
Mitch Gardiner relieved Foden to pitch the 9th. He walked leadoff man Matt Blair-Brown, who had been subbed in for Grant Tamane in the 7th. Blair-Brown then enjoyed himself a stroll around the bases, as Foden and catcher Darek Bishop conspired on three passed balls. The third one allowed Blair-Brown to score and make it 13-2 Toronto.
A single by rightfielder Dre Celestijn to start the bottom of the 9th was followed by a couple more singles off the bats of Molleson and Seto. Celestijn scored on Seto's hit, but that would be all as Wagner closed out his fourth inning of relief to clinch a 13-3 FINAL for Toronto.
Toronto 13-18-0
Hamilton 3-7-3
W - Cicatello (3-1, 4.05)
L - Lazar (1-3, 9.60)
S - Wagner (1)
BOXSCORE
Back to .500, the Maple Leafs are in 5th place in the IBL Standings. They will look to lay another beating on these same Cardinals on Sunday, June 25 at Christie Pits.
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