Leafs Dominate Cardinals 8-1 to Extend Win Streak to Four

By Noam Streiffer

The Maple Leafs continued their hot streak, winning in commanding fashion against the Hamilton Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. This win brings Toronto’s streak to four games and puts them less than three games out of first place in the IBL standings.

Adam Jafine got the start for the Leafs, and it was a short but effective outing. Jafine pitched four innings and did not allow a single run against a potent Cardinals lineup.

Hamilton sent out Corben Peters, who was touched up for three runs on three hits and three walks over five innings pitched.

The Leafs got to Peters in the first inning. The red-hot Marcus Knecht blasted a two-run homer, bringing Jordan Castaldo around to score and giving the Leafs an early 2-0 lead.

Toronto added on in the top of the fifth when Jhon Javier singled and brought Ryan Dos Santos around to score, increasing the lead to 3-0.

Drew Howard came on in relief in the bottom of the fifth, and Hamilton notched their one and only run of the game when July Vittini came in to score on a Tyler Duncan fielder’s choice. After that, Howard settled in to deliver four innings of one-run ball.

From that point on, it was all Leafs. Jordan Castaldo tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh with a home run—his fifth of the season.

The Leafs added two more in the top of the ninth on a Justin Marra bases-loaded walk and a Spencer MacInnis RBI fielder’s choice to reach the final score of 8-1.

Alex Uher came on in the bottom of the ninth to shut things down, and he did just that—allowing no runs to close out the game for the Leafs.

Up Next: The Leafs head home to Dominico Field for a rematch with the Cardinals. First pitch is Wednesday, June 25 at 7:30 p.m.