Leafs win 6-2
Leafs win series 3-2
Rinse your steins and launder your lederhosen, the Toronto Maple Leafs are headed for Sausagetown.
The Leafs will meet the Kitchener Panthers in a semifinal showdown after they ousted the Guelph Royals last night at Christie Pits. The highlight of the night was two Leafs pitchers making IBL history in the deciding game of the quarterfinal series.
Zach Sloan and Marek Deska (above) combined to pitch the first postseason no-hitter in the league's 100 years of existence. They got the job done with 124 pitches in total, and the Leafs won Game 5 by a score of 6-2.
Sloan struck out seven and walked five through the first six innings of the game. He survived a hair-raising sixth that featured two intentional walks, two errors, two wild pitches and a hit-by-pitch, all of which resulted in no hits but two runs for the Royals.
Deska pitched a perfect seventh, survived a slightly-less-perfect eighth, and pitched another perfect ninth. The longtime Leaf got Guelph's last two batters to strike out swinging and cemented a place in the history books for himself and his young teammate.
Catcher Mike Reeves guided both pitchers through the game, and contributed an RBI sac fly as the Leafs built a lead that Guelph could not overcome.
Behind the mound, Toronto's defense got the job done. Despite tallying four errors in the game, the Mapes flashed the leather when necessary. Second baseman Dan Marra and shortstop Aaron Hornostaj initiated a pair of double plays with acrobatic flair to whip up an already boisterous Christie Pits crowd.
At the plate, the big hit of the night belonged to Garrett Takamatsu, who brought the place to fever pitch when he cracked a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the sixth. Takamatsu's big fly turned out to be the game-winner.
With both clubs facing elimination, they took the field on a muggy but breezy evening in Toronto. Sloan was on the mound against Yomar Concepcion, winner of Game 2 in Guelph.
The first two innings passed without much bother. The Leafs broke the ice in the bottom of the third. Hornostaj and centerfielder Connor Lewis both singled, and they advanced to third and second respectively on a groundout by Dan Marra. An intentional walk of first baseman Justin Marra loaded the bases for rightfielder Marcus Knecht. The volume level around the Pits went up. Knecht grounded out to second, but Hornostaj scored on the play to put the Leafs ahead 1-0 after three.
The lead was doubled in the bottom of the fourth when Takamatsu hit a double and took third on a wild pitch by Concepcion. That teed it up for Reeves' sac fly and it was a 2-0 Leafs lead through four.
A scoreless fifth led to Sloan's biggest challenge in the top of the sixth. He hit Darius Barlus with a pitch to open the inning, but Barlus was erased on a fielder's choice and Ethan Mohan took his place at first. Mohan stole second, then Jeff MacLeod struck out. Sean Reilly then took first via one of the intentional base on balls that Toronto has made judicious use of this series. Justin Interisano was up next, and he reached safely on an error by Justin Marra, which allowed Mohan to score. Another intentional walk to Angel Villalona loaded the bases. A pickoff attempt at second was misthrown, allowing Reilly to score. Sloan got the error, but got out of the jam by striking out Jon Waltenbury. A tense inning came to an end with the score tied 2-2.
The bullpen had been stirring for some time, with a man occasionally getting up to throw a few tosses before stepping back again. Marek Deska now began to warm up in earnest. As he cranked some balls to Michael Cecchetto along the left field fence, Takamatsu came up to the plate to lead off the bottom of the sixth. High up on the hillside, the sassy hecklers known as The Bushmen sounded their "Tak-Tak-Tak-Tak-Tak-Takamatsu!" cheer. First pitch: foul. Second pitch: destroyed. Takamatsu swung and fired a laser shot that went soaring over everyone in left and straight into the trees. The entire park knew it was gone by the sound off the bat. The exit velocity of Takamatsu's homer was measured at "DEVASTATION LEVEL".
The Pits went nuts. Takamatsu chugged around the bases beneath a deafening roar. It was now 3-2 Leafs.
Moments later, The Bushmen debuted a new "Takamatsu" chant to the tune of "Papa's Got A Brand New Pig Bag".
Big scenes and wild feels among the Christie Crazies.
Deska got the call from the pen with a task of nine outs. He stomped to the mound like a bulldog and got right to it. He immediately recorded two flyouts and a swinging strikeout, and nine became six.
In the bottom of the seventh, Justin Marra led off with a walk, and Knecht ripped a double. That ended Concepcion's evening, and he was relieved by Game 3 starter Edwin Javier. Third baseman Johnathan Solazzo drew a walk to load 'em up, bringing Takamatsu back to the plate. He hit a shot to first base that resulted in a putout, but also brought Marra across the plate with another run. 4-2 Leafs through seven.
In the top of the eighth with one out, Jeff MacLeod reached first on an error by Hornostaj. Reilly was up next and he hit one a mile... high. It barely got out of the infield and was caught for the second out. Deska hit Interisano with a pitch to put two men aboard, but they would end up stranded there as Villalona grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
David Hatt came in from the pen for Guelph in the bottom of the eighth after Hornostaj reached on an error and Lewis was walked by Javier. Both runners advanced on a groundout by Dan Marra, and then Justin Marra was walked to load the bases. Knecht hit a screamer straight at third base for the second out. That brought leftfielder Zac Orchard -- the Leafs' hottest hitter of the series -- to the plate. Orchard delivered a two-run single that plated Hornostaj and Lewis, making it a 6-2 score and putting Sloan and Deska three outs away from history.
In the ninth inning, there would be no easing off, no cuteness, all bulldog. The Royals knew that elimination in the most stunning way was staring them in the face. They had not recorded a hit all night. Waltenbury grounded out. The buzz that had filled the Pits since the sixth inning rose in volume as the end drew near. Christopher Procopio struck out swinging. Destiny now knocked on the door. Matthew Pilarczyk was the last man standing, and Deska also struck him out swinging.
A no-hitter!
The Pits erupted anew. The Leafs advanced in the grandest of fashions. A 3-2 series victory and an appointment with the Kitchener Panthers in the semifinals.
The IBL's most recent no-hitter was in 2003, pitched by Derek McDaid of the Barrie Baycats -- but it was a 7-inning game as part of a doubleheader.
The Maple Leafs' most recent no-hitter was by Rob Patterson in 2000 -- but it was also a 7-inning game.
The IBL's most recent 9-inning no-hitter was pitched by Jesse Orosco of the Cambridge Terriers in 1977.
Yes, that Jesse Orosco.
The infield celebrations last night were much more restrained, but Sloan and Deska have achieved legend status that they can carry for the rest of their days.
The quarterfinals ended with a historic night in Toronto. The Leafs now look ahead to their semifinal series, scheduled to start this Friday.
Guelph 2-0-2
Toronto 6-9-4
W - Sloan (1-1, 2.13)
L - Concepcion (1-1, 3.60)
S - Deska (1)
BOXSCORE
NOTE: Eric Penkala and Cory Graham are providing live webcasts of each Leafs playoff game and archiving them on YouTube. The channel is Toronto Maple Leafs IBL Webcast.
Here's their complete coverage of Game 5.
Keep it locked here for a preview of the Toronto-Kitchener semifinal series, coming soon.
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