DECISIVE 6TH INNING RESULTS IN TORONTO LOSING TO WELLAND 14-4

Written by: Olivia Byrne

WELLAND, Ont. — The Maple Leafs faced an uphill battle during Wednesday night’s game against the Welland Jackfish, one that would result in a 14-4 loss. 

Wilgenis Alvarado got the start for Toronto tonight, hoping to replicate his great start against the London Majors last Sunday. For the first three innings, everything seemed to be going his way. 

The game started out as a pitcher’s duel, as both Toronto and Welland arms had clean, quick innings. 

In the bottom of the 4th, Alvarado ran into trouble right away, hitting two consecutive batters. With Welland threatening, Alvarado went right back into his pitching groove, striking out the next two batters he faced. 

With one out left, Welland struck first after just two pitches, driving in a run off a soft grounder. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, the next two batters Alvarado faced did the exact same thing—driving in runs off of soft ground balls. Once the inning ended, Toronto was down 3-0, but they weren’t going down without a fight.

After a 1-2-3 5th inning from Alvarado, it was time for the Maple Leafs to shine. To get the ball rolling, Matt Brandt singled to center field on the third pitch he saw. 

One batter later, JJ Dutton hit a medium grounder to get on base, putting Brandt in scoring position. After a quick flyout to right field, Marcus Knecht headed up to the plate, sending a laser line drive into left field, bringing home both Brandt and Dutton.

After Dennis Dei Baning worked a walk from a six-pitch at-bat, Matthew Fabian swung on the first pitch he saw, plating Knecht, the tying runner. Toronto entered the inning down by three runs and left all tied up.

The looming threat of a comeback was quickly shut down, however, as in the bottom of the 6th, Welland’s offence would explode, scoring 10 runs in 14 at-bats.

From there, the score remained static until the top of the 9th. Kirk Gibson drew a walk from a 5-pitch at-bat, then advanced on a wild pitch to get into scoring position. A groundout from Brandon Leroux brought Gibson home, making the final score 14-4. 

UP NEXT: The Maple Leafs travel to Athletic Kulture Stadium to face the Barrie Baycats on Thursday, Jun. 18. First pitch is set for 7:38 p.m.