Don’t look now but after a so-so start to the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are right in the thick of the race for first place in the Intercounty Baseball League.

The Leafs got complete game pitching performances from Drew Taylor and Jake Gallo and plenty of offence to sweep away the Ottawa Fat Cats 9-2 and 17-2 Sunday afternoon at Dominico Field at Christie Pits, giving the Leafs six straight victories.

More importantly Toronto (16-8) now finds itself just a game behind the first place Brantford Red Sox (15-5) and half-game behind the second place Barrie Baycats (16-7), as the IBL regular season schedule enters its final three weeks.

After being mauled 20-1 and 5-3 in their trip to Ottawa for a doubleheader earlier this season, the Leafs got a big measure of revenge Sunday, slapping out nine hits in the opener and 14 in the second game to make it a long afternoon for Ottawa (6-20).

“We obviously remembered what happened up there and we really turned it on today, it was a good effort,” Leaf owner Jack Dominico said. “We expect this team to challenge for the top every year and after a slow start, that’s what we’re starting to do now thanks to this win streak.

“We got some pretty good pitching performances today too in both games and that makes it a lot easier.”

Easy certainly describes the Leafs sweep as they took advantage of a Fat Cats team that was playing its fifth game in three days on their road trip.

Taylor allowed two runs on seven hits in the opener, striking out two and walking one, in his first complete game of the season in the seven inning game. Raul Borjas sparked the offence with two hits, two RBI, and two runs scored, while Dan Gibbons also drove in a pair of runs and Damon Topolie had two hits and scored a run.

Former Leaf Mike Lynch was rocked right from the start, as he lasted just two innings and was torched for eight runs on seven hits with one strikeout and three walks. Mark Charrette had two hits and Dave Valensente homered in a losing cause for Ottawa in the opener.

The Leafs raced to a 7-2 lead after four innings in the second game and then scored five runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to turn it into a rout.

Gallo allowed two runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks, and had more than enough offence to allow him to just throw strikes and notch another complete game.

Gibbons had three hits, including a three-run homer, and drove in five runs for the Leafs. Borjas had two more hits in the second game and another two RBI, while Kyle Morton scored three runs, had two hits and an RBI and Topolie had another two hits and an RBI.

Loser Matt McGovern went four innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and five walks. Denton Neill and Eitan Maoz both had a hit and RBI for the Fat Cats in game two.

The Leafs are in Guelph on Tuesday, play a doubleheader in London on Canada Day and host the Guelph Royals Sunday at 2 p.m. at Dominico Field at Christie Pits.