There hasn’t been much to choose from between the Barrie Baycats and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening two games of their wild Intercounty Baseball League semi-final playoff series.
But that is small consolation for the Leafs, who are now in deep trouble in the series, both off and on the field.
Dave Latour’s RBI single in the top of the 10th inning drove in the winning run as the Baycats edged the Leafs 9-8 Sunday at Christie Pits to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is in Barrie Tuesday with Game 4 back at the Pits on Wednesday night.
Barrie took the series opener 8-7 in a game that saw the ejection of Barrie starter Paul Spoljaric and designated hitter Matt Logan, along with Leafs first baseman Dan Gibbons and second baseman Gamin Teague, after an on-field altercation after the seventh inning of Barrie’s 8-7 win.
IBL Commissioner Jim Rooney suspended Spoljaric for the balance of the playoffs and Logan for one game, while the Leafs will lose the services of Teague for 10 games and Gibbons for two.
The result of the suspensions left Leaf owner Jack Dominico fuming after Game 2.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous to have suspensions that long,” Dominico said. “The Commissioner should resign, that’s a massive over-reaction.”
Both the Leafs and the Baycats will appeal the suspensions, but that didn’t help either team for Sunday. Gibbons and Teague accounted for all seven of the Leafs RBI in the series opener and both will also miss Tuesday’s Game 3.
Dominico wasn’t thrilled with the way the Leafs lost the entertaining Sunday game either, after taking a 3-0 lead, falling behind 7-3 only to tie the game and set the stage for a dramatic bottom of the ninth.
Trailing 8-7, the Leafs punched home a run after right fielder Ryan Spataro allowed a single by Rob Gillis to go under his glove, with Nildo Puertas scampering home with the tying run.
Brian Ivan also eventually tired to score on the play but was thrown out at the plate after Spataro’s throw to try and nail Puertas bounced off Barrie catcher Jordan Lundberg’s glove.
Ivan was easily tossed out at the plate as Lundberg’s throw to pitcher Jake Hines made him the second out of the inning, and when Rodney Caballero grounded out, the inning was over.
“No way he should try to score from third base on a play like that in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning,” an already preturbed Dominico said.
The Baycats appear to have much deeper pitching than the Leafs, even witout Spoljaric, using five pitchers to Toronto’s three on Sunday.
Reliever Jake Hines went two innings for the win, allowing one run on three hits, while the Leafs had to use rookie Ryan Mashinter for the final two innings. Mashinter pitched well but took the loss, allowing Latour’s game-winning hit.
Latour had three hits and two RBI for the Baycats, while Spataro scored four runs and drove in three, including belting a two-run homer in the sixth. Todd Betts also had two hits and three RBI for the winners.
Kern Watts had three hits, scored a run and drove in another for the Leafs, while Iavn also had three hits and an RBI. Jeremy Walker added a two-run homer for the Leafs, who had 13 hits.
