Leafs win 4-3
Leafs lead series 2-1
The Toronto Maple Leafs wheeled and dealed their way to victory today.
In Game Three of their quarterfinal series against the Brantford Red Sox, the Leafs staged another dramatic comeback at Christie Pits. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning, they put four runs on the board, Julian Johnson hit a game-winning double, and Justin Cicatello (above) posted a complete game victory in front of a raucus Sunday afternoon crowd.
Cicatello and his Brantford counterpart Graham Tebbit were the story for the first half of this game. Both starters threw no-hitters for the first three innings.
Brantford got two hits in the fourth, but they did not impact the score in a fast-moving game.
The first man to have a wobble was Cicatello. His first pitch of the sixth inning hit Brantford batter Nic Burdett. After getting the next two men out, Cicatello gave up two doubles, coupled with an error at second base, and three Sox crossed home plate.
The Leafs got their first hit of the game courtesy of a Jon Waltenbury single in the sixth, but that was it.
Dalton Harvey relieved Tebbit in the seventh inning, got through it unscathed, and the Leafs still had just one hit on the afternoon. Fans around the hillsides began to wonder if the local lads had left it too late for a comeback.
Just one inning later they had their response. In the bottom of the eighth, Harvey gave up a leadoff single to centerfielder Connor Lewis and a walk to leftfielder Grant Tamane. That brought Tanner Guindon in from the Brantford bullpen. Waltenbury was the first man up against Guindon, and Wally one-armed a single to load the bases with no out. Guindon settled in and got the next two batters to strike out swinging: sluggers Justin Marra and Johnathan Solazzo -- huge outs. Rightfielder Zac Orchard was the next man up, and he swatted a single that scored both Lewis and Tamane and brought the Pits to life.
Manager Damon Topolie sent Julian Johnson to the plate as a pinch hitter. Johnson previously faced Guindon back in June, and secured a place in Christie Pits lore with a memorable walk off home run.
That was then, this was now. Johnson stepped in with runners on first and second and two out. It was another game-on-the-line situation, and Johnson's response is best explained with a single word: "PWNAGE". On a 3-1 count, Johnson laced one into the outfield and it was off to the races. Waltenbury scored easily, and all eyes turned to Orchard. Dude was wheeling all the way from first. The throw to the plate was good, but Orchard made a major-league slide to avoid the tag and score. Madness. Mayhem. Cock-a-doodle-doo. The Leafs had come all the way back to take a 4-3 lead.
With the Pits in a state of near-riot, Toronto's ace calmly returned to the mound to finish the game. Not having any of it from Brantford, he set them down in order. Dude was dealing all the way to the finish. With two out, Solazzo caught a shallow pop-up at third to end the game. Cicatello notched the complete game victory and the Leafs took a 2-1 lead in this quarterfinal series.
Brantford 3-4-1
Toronto 4-5-2
W - Cicatello (1-0, 0.00)
L - Guindon (0-1, 4.90)
BOXSCORE
This series returns to Arnold Schwarzenegger Thunderdome on Tuesday night, August 8th for Game 4. First pitch is scheduled for 8:00 pm, but time and online connectivity are both malleable in Brantford.
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