Leafs Snap Skid with 5–2 Win Over Barnstormers

By Noam Streiffer 

The Toronto Maple Leafs snapped their two-game losing streak with a solid 5–2 victory over the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers on Sunday.

Josh Berenbaum got the start for the Leafs and looked excellent, pitching five innings of two-run ball and striking out five to lead the team to a much-needed win.

“I was just attacking the strike zone from the beginning, getting ahead of guys and burying them with offspeed,” Berenbaum said postgame.

Both of Chatham-Kent’s runs came in the first inning. Spencer Marcus drove a double into the gap to score Evan Morrison, and was then brought home on another double by Mitsuki Fukuda, giving the Barnstormers an early 2–0 lead.

The Barnstormers sent out switch-pitcher Mizuki Akatsuka, who allowed four runs over six innings and took the loss.

The Leafs responded quickly. In the bottom of the first, Jhon Javier launched a towering home run to left-center field to cut the deficit to one.

Toronto tied it up in the second on Kalayo Shaw’s first career Intercounty Baseball League home run.

“I just want to compete, work hard, play for the guys around me, play for myself, and have fun doing it,” said Shaw, showing real maturity from the young hitter.

Things stayed quiet until the bottom of the fifth, when Jordan Castaldo drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single, putting the Leafs up 3–2.

Drew Howard came on in the sixth to relieve Berenbaum and looked dominant, pitching three shutout innings and capping his outing with an electric eighth inning in which he struck out the side.

Toronto added insurance in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run single from Spencer Ross. Adam Jafine then came on to close things out and secured the 5–2 win.

Berenbaum praised the bullpen after the game: “It was nice to be able to trust the guys out of the bullpen, knowing that when I throw five, we’re going to get four solid innings from the boys.”

With the win, the Leafs improve to 7–7 on the season, heading into a much-needed stretch of off days.

Up Next: The Leafs return to action on Wednesday, June 18th, when they host the Kitchener Panthers at Dominico Field. First pitch is set for 7:30 PM.