It was just one of those days for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday afternoon at Dominico Field at Christie Pits.
Just about everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the Leafs as the Guelph Royals snapped a five-game losing streak by drubbing Toronto 14-0 in Intercounty Baseball League play.
About the only good news for the Leafs came on the out-of-town scoreboard, as the Barrie Baycats and Brantford Red Sox also both lost, leaving the Leafs (18-10) still just a half-game behind first Barrie, tied with Brantford.
There was little positive news on the diamond on a hot day at the Pits, as the Royals slapped out 16 hits and dominated the Leafs right from the start.
“We’ve played a lot of games lately and I guess it just caught up with us,” Leaf owner Jack Dominico said. “It was a hell of a tough day.
“We didn’t get any pitching and we just couldn’t seem to get anything going at all in this one.”
Leafs are in Barrie on Tuesday and host the Hamilton Thunderbirds Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Dominico Field at Christie Pits.
Guelph scored five runs in the third inning off Toronto starter and loser Drew Taylor and it only got worse from there, with the Royals scoring six runs in the eighth to really pile it on.
It made for an easy afternoon for Guelph starter Mike Goemans, who allowed just four hits over eight scoreless innings, striking out five and walking three. Duane Fagel finished up, allowing a ninth inning single to complete the five-hitter.
John Waltenbury had a big day at the plate for the seventh place Royals (10-17), as he hit a three-run homer and wound up with three hits and four RBI on the afternoon. Frankie Hare also homered, had three hits and scored twice while finishing with three RBI.
Brian Brown also contributed three hits and three RBI, and Sean Reilly had two hits, two runs scored and two RBI. Jeremy Ware scored three runs and had two hits and an RBI and former Leaf Sean Travers contributed another two hits and scored three runs.
The Leafs managed just five singles, two of them by Damon Topolie, but never really threatened to score at any point after loading the bases with two singles and a walk in the fourth inning.
Taylor had looked to be rounding into form after arm problems recently, but he struggled, allowing five runs on six hits in just three innings with one strikeout. Four relievers finished up for the Leafs.
NOTES - A moment of silence was held before the game in memory of long-time Leaf assistant coach Terry Steeves, who passed away on the weekend. Steeves was involved with the team for close to 30 years.