No Quit

Game 5: Toronto Maple Leafs at Kitchener Panthers, May 24, 2018

Panthers win 9-7

After seven innings of play at Jack Couch Park last night, fans started trickling away into the night. 

The hometown Kitchener Panthers had savagely attacked the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs and racked up a 9-2 score by that point. With six outs to go, in an early season game, with rosters still incomplete and nothing on the line, it was easy to write this one off and head home.

But these are Leafs of a new, determined variety.

It had started in the top of the seventh, with the top of the order due up and the Leafs down 8-0. Catcher Mike Reeves singled to center, then came all the way around to score when leftfielder Justin Marra hit one to left field. Fielding errors by Kitchener saw Marra end up at third and Reeves slid home safely. Reeves chugged into the visitors' dugout, urging his teammates on. The V-necks responded. Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo drove in Marra on a groundout, but Kitchener was able to snuff out that rally and keep the score at 8-2. 

The Panthers added another run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 9-2.

The Leafs mounted a bigger rally in the top of the eighth. DH Garrett Takamatsu singled to lead off. A single by second baseman Dan Marra, and a walk to shortstop Adam Odd loaded the bases. Reeves returned to the plate and hit one to second, which was played for an error. Everyone moved up a base and Takamatsu scored. That brought Justin Marra up, and he blasted a grand slam to make it a 9-7 ballgame. Shock the monkey!  Or Panther as it were.  The Kitchener bullpen was suddenly at risk of blowing a huge lead, and the game.

Miguel Lahera put out the growing blaze. He came out of the Kitchener bullpen for the ninth -- the Panthers' fifth pitcher of the game -- and was able to hold off Toronto and seal a 9-7 FINAL for the home side.

R.J. Page lasted 5.1 innings on the mound for Toronto, and took the loss. He was relieved by Adam Marra, who pitched the remaining 2.2 innings.

Justin Marra's homer was his league-leading fourth. His 10 RBIs tie him with Kitchener's Keegan Marsden atop the leaderboard. 

Despite the loss, the Leafs showed a No Quit attitude which will pay off as the season continues.

Toronto 7-8-2
Kitchener 9-10-5

W - Hauck (2-0, 0.00)
L - Page (1-1, 6.51)
S - Lahera (1)


BOXSCORE


The 4-1 Leafs continue this road trip on Saturday afternoon, May 26th, with a stop at the Barn in Burlington to face the still-winless Herd.