The battle for first place in the Intercounty Baseball League will likely go right down to the wire, but for the moment the Toronto Maple Leafs sit on top.
Jordan Castaldo had three hits and drove in three runs as the Leafs knocked off the Barrie Baycats 8-5 Tuesday night in Barrie, moving the Leafs into a first place tie with the Brantford Red Sox.
Castaldo keyed a three-run rally in the eighth with a two-run double as Toronto (19-10) ended the night tied with Brantford (17-8) for top spot, a half game ahead of the now third place Baycats (18-10).
The Leafs host the Hamilton Thunderbirds tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Dominico Filed at Christie Pits, before travelling to Barrie again on Thursday for a rematch.
“It can’t get much tighter at the top of the standings, so this was a big win,” Leaf owner Jack Dominico said. “We have three teams just a half game apart, so every win is a big win.”
Toronto scored three runs in the top of the first inning, only to have the Baycats rally for two runs in their first, and single runs in the second, fourth and sixth innings, to take a 5-3 lead.
But a two-run seventh followed by a three-run eighth was enough to give the Leafs their eighth win in 10 games, as the IBL regular season heads into its final two weeks with the Leafs having just seven games left to play.
Marek Deska pitched a gritty complete game for the Leafs, allowing five runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and six walks, to pick up the win.
Kyle Degrace also had three hits for the Leafs and scored three runs, driving in another, as Toronto had 14 hits off four Barrie pitchers. Dan Gibbons added a pair of hits and drove in another two, while Gamin Teague returned to the Leaf lineup and added a pair of hits and scored a run, as did Kern Watts.
Chris England, the third of four Barrie pitchers, took the loss. He allowed three runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings, striking out one and walking none.
Ryan Spataro had four hits and drove in a pair of runs for Barrie, while Dave Latour drove in two runs. Matt Richardson added two hits and scored twice for the Baycats.