Leafs Drop Second Straight in Loss to Welland

By Noam Streiffer

The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped their second game in a row, losing 12-6 to the Welland Jackfish at home. The Leafs now sit at 5-5 on the season, right in the middle of a grueling five-games-in-six-days stretch.

Drew Howard made his second start of the season and showed some improvement, going four innings and allowing four runs. Leafs' Assistant Coach Brian Sewell had this to say about his starter: “His third and fourth inning, it looked like he really found his groove.”

Welland countered with José Domínguez, who pitched effectively, going 5.1 innings and allowing just three earned runs to give the Jackfish some much-needed length.

The scoring started immediately. Jonah Weisner led off the game with a home run to deep center field, followed by an RBI double from Jake Sanford to put Welland up 2-0.

Toronto got one back in the bottom of the first when Ryan Dos Santos scored on a passed ball.

Welland continued to pour it on. Gianfranco Morello drove in two with an RBI single in the second to extend the lead to 4-1.

Toronto added a run in the bottom of the fourth when Spencer MacInnis came around to score on an error by the Jackfish shortstop.

Robert Mullen and Jake Sanford both went deep in the top of the fifth, bringing the score to 6-2.

Marcus Knecht and Dan Marra came around to score in the bottom half of the inning on an error and a fielder’s choice, cutting the deficit to 6-4.

In the top of the sixth, Matteo Porcellato drove in another run for Welland to make it 7-4.

The Leafs responded in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single from Rando Moreno that brought Ryan Dos Santos around to score, making it a 7-5 game.

But Welland wasn’t done. The Jackfish tacked on five more runs over the final three innings to seal the victory.

A solo home run from Marcus Knecht in the bottom of the ninth wasn’t enough to spark a rally, and the Leafs fell to 5-5 on the season.

Up Next: The Leafs head to Brantford to take on the Red Sox. First pitch from Arnold Anderson Stadium is set for Tuesday, June 10 at 8:00 PM.