Leafs Fall 11–3 to Panthers in Saturday Matinee

By Noam Streiffer

The Leafs lost a tough one on Saturday afternoon, coming up short in an 11–3 loss to the 9–14 Kitchener Panthers.

Toronto sent out Adam Jafine for the start, but he struggled, allowing eleven runs—only four of them earned—on ten hits against the Panthers.

On the other side, Kitchener handed the ball to Evan Elliott, who delivered six strong innings of one-run ball while striking out seven in a much-needed performance for the Panthers.

Toronto opened the scoring in the bottom of the first on a Conner Lewis fielder’s choice, but that was all the offense they could muster against the Kitchener starter.

The Panthers' bats came alive in the middle innings, scoring five in the third, three in the fourth, and another three in the fifth to put the game out of reach for the Leafs.

Toronto added two more runs before the game was over—one in the seventh on a Jhon Javier RBI single, and another in the ninth on a Ryan Dos Santos home run.

Dakota Parsons came in to close things out for the Panthers, and aside from the Dos Santos homer, he did just that—securing the win and keeping Kitchener afloat in the IBL playoff race.

Up Next: The Leafs travel to Kitchener for a rematch with the Panthers. First pitch is Sunday, July 6 at 5:00 PM.