Leafs' 4-Game Heater Ends in Blowout Loss to Hamilton

By: Noam Streiffer

The Leafs’ four-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday night in a blowout 18–6 loss to the Hamilton Cardinals.

Taylor Lepard got the start for the Leafs in his first outing of the season and struggled, allowing four runs on seven hits over four innings pitched.

The formidable Owen Boon took the mound for the Cardinals and delivered a solid performance, pitching five innings and allowing just two earned runs to earn the win for Hamilton.

Hamilton got to Lepard early, scoring a run in the second inning, followed by three more in the third on a home run by former Maple Leaf Johnathan Solazzo.

Toronto got on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a fielder’s choice from Justin Marra, followed by an RBI single from his brother Dan Marra, cutting the lead to 4–2.

Hamilton kept pouring it on, scoring three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, four in the seventh, one in the eighth, and three more in the ninth.

A home run from Jhon Javier in the 7th wasn't enough, as Hamilton came away with a dominant win.

The silver lining for the Leafs was Jordan Castaldo’s 499th career RBI, moving him up to third on the IBL’s all-time leaderboard.

Up Next: The Leafs take on the Guelph Royals at home at Dominico Field. First pitch is at 7:30 PM.