TOTAL TEAM EFFORT POWERS MAPLE LEAFS TO 9-3 WIN
Written by: Olivia Byrne
KITCHENER, Ont. — The Toronto Maple Leafs kept their road win streak alive in tonight’s 9-3 victory over the Kitchener Panthers.
Batting leadoff, Brando Leroux opened the scoring for Toronto just four pitches in, taking opposing pitcher Jorge Minyety deep to left field.
After a quick flyout to center field from Yasiel Puig, JJ Dutton was up to bat. Facing just two pitches, Dutton hit one to Kitchener’s second baseman, who bobbled it upon pickup. This error allowed Dutton to reach first base safely, bringing up Dennis Dei Baning.
While Dei Baning was at bat, Minyety spiked a pitch into the ground. As it got further away from the Panthers’ catcher, Dutton advanced from first to second base to get in scoring position. Dei Baning would eventually walk, bringing up Spenser Ross.
With Ross at the plate, Dei Baning and Dutton initiated a double steal. Attempting to catch Dutton, Minyety threw the ball off-target to third. The ball got by the Kitchener third baseman, and Dutton was able to score with ease, bringing the score to 2-0. Ross would then strike out to end the inning.
Nick Veselinovic toed the rubber for Toronto tonight and had a great performance. The righty pitcher went 5.0 innings with just one earned run and seven strikeouts.
The lone earned run for Veselinovic came in the bottom of the second, when a run scored from second off a hard ground ball that rolled into right field.
With their lead cut to 2-1, Toronto needed some insurance runs to get comfortable. In the top of the third, Leroux got things started, reaching safely on an error by Kitchener’s shortstop. After taking two balls, Puig sliced one into left field to put Leroux in scoring position.
As Dutton stepped up to the plate, a wild pitch from Minyety allowed Leroux and Puig to advance, bringing Toronto only 90 feet from another run.
Although Dutton would strike out, Dei Baning was up to bat and, after facing six pitches, hit a soft grounder to left field that plated Leroux.
The Maple Leafs now had a 3-1 lead, but wanted to keep the momentum going. With Puig in scoring position, Marcus Knecht stepped up to the plate. It didn’t take long for the right fielder to find a pitch he liked, driving one into center field to bring home Puig and make it a 4-1 ballgame.
In the fifth, Kitchener halved Toronto’s lead once again, as a runner in scoring position was able to safely advance to home on a throwing error from Dutton.
Veselinovic’s day was done after the fifth, meaning Frankie Gulko got the ball in the sixth. Down by two, the Panthers inched closer to tying the game up when Yosuke Fujie hit a solo shot off of Gulko.
With the game a little too close for Toronto’s comfort, the Maple Leafs had three innings left to blow this game wide open.
The seventh inning was quiet for both teams, but in the eighth, Toronto turned on the jets.
A strikeout from Ross to open the inning brought up Yordan Manduley, who singled off the second pitch he saw, bringing up Crix Taveras. After seeing just two pitches, Taveras deposited the ball into center field to put Manduley in scoring position.
As Dionysius Chialtas stepped into the box, Toronto once again initiated a double steal.
In an attempt to catch Manduley, the ball once again got by the Kitchener third baseman, and Manduley was able to score with ease, making it a 5-3 ballgame.
Chialtas would eventually strike out, bringing up the top of the order once again. Leroux, who had already hit a solo shot in the first inning tonight, wanted to do more damage. On the third pitch he saw, Leroux cleared the fences, increasing the score to 7-3.
The Maple Leafs headed into the ninth feeling great. Ben Sitarenios drove one past Kitchener’s third baseman to get on, bringing up Knecht.
With Knecht in the box, he and pitcher Ernesto Punales were locked into a back-and-forth battle. After two called strikes, Knecht would work the count and take three balls. The duel could have gone either way, but as Knecht saw the seventh pitch, he lifted it out and way over the left field fence, winning the fight against Punales and sealing the deal for the Maple Leafs.
Luis Florentino came in to close out the game for Toronto, pitching a 1-2-3 inning and keeping the final score for the Leafs at 9-3. Tonight’s game was a complete team effort, with Toronto recording 12 hits over nine innings.
UP NEXT: Toronto heads home to take on the Welland Jackfish tomorrow, July 24. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.