Maple Leafs finish above .500 with 9-3 win

By Rob Vona

The Toronto Maple Leafs took down the Brantford Red Sox on Monday night at Arnold Anderson Stadium by a score of 9-3, finishing in fourth place in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL). 

With the win, the Maple Leafs finish the 2023 season with a 21-20 record, finishing above .500 for the third consecutive season. 

The Red Sox got on the board first as first baseman Gus Cousins took advantage of a wild pitch in the bottom of the first inning and made it a 1-0 game. 

The Maple Leafs went on to score six runs over the next two innings. 

A pair of singles from right-fielder Greg Carrington and shortstop Jose Vinicio cashed in two runs, while catcher Justin Marra forced home a run with a walk in the top of the second inning. 

One inning later, second baseman Dan Marra contributed with a base hit of his own that brought in two runs, while Carrington added to his total with his second RBI single of the night, giving the Maple Leafs the 6-1 lead.  

Carrington went on to finish with a game-high three hits and two RBI. 

Red Sox catcher Jeremie Veilleux cut the deficit to just four as he hit a solo home run, his fourth of the year. 

The trio of Julian Valdez, Yoichi Ishihara and Marek Deska held the Red Sox scoreless in the fourth to seventh innings, combining for four hitless innings. 

Red Sox second baseman Jacob Lupton got to Adam Marra in the eighth with an RBI single that gave Brantford their third run of the game.  

A late game RBI single from first baseman Jordan Castaldo helped extend his on-base streak to 24 games, while the Maple Leafs scored two more runs in the ninth inning off of an error from Gus Wilson.

The Maple Leafs used seven different pitchers while Dustin Richardson picked up his first win of the 2023 season in the 9-3 outing. 

The Maple Leafs will take on the Guelph Royals in the best-of-five first round of the IBL Playoffs. Game 1 is on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at Dominico Field. 

The post game report is brought to you Woodbine Racetrack, official sponsor of Maple Leafs baseball.