Josh McCurdy drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Brantford Red Sox a 5-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Brantford Saturday afternoon, handing the Leafs their first loss of the season.

The defending IBL champions improved to 2-2 with the victory, which took them more than 4 ½ hours to get on a soggy afternoon. The Leafs host the Oshawa Dodgers Sunday at 2 p.m. on Team Calendar Day.

The Red Sox began their playoff run last season by sweeping the Leafs out of the first round of the playoffs, but the teams battled long and hard on Saturday before McCurdy’s hit finally ended the marathon, the first meeting between the clubs since last season’s first round playoff series.

McCurdy had three hits to pace the Red Sox, who have won two of the past three IBL titles and are a perennial contender.

The Leafs are coming off their worst season in more than two decades, but they are now 2-1 to start the season, leaving Leaf owner Jack Dominico optimistic for the rest of the season.

“We’re going to be just fine if we keep playing like we have in the first three games,” Dominico said.

McCurdy’s hit came off Toronto reliever Lee Witmer, who took the loss. Lee Delfino added a pair of hits for the winners.

Steve Stricker picked up the win in relief for the Red Sox. Rookie Kyle Morton had two hits for Toronto, including a mammoth three-run homer, and Nildo Puertas added a pair of hits.