Royals win marathon match in bottom of ninth
GUELPH – The Guelph Royals struck for the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to edge the Toronto Maple Leafs 13-12 in a marathon Intercounty Baseball League game Saturday night at Hastings Stadium.
The Royals’ league-high seventh consecutive win came in a match that lasted three hours and 43 minutes.
Guelph Royals 13 Toronto Maple Leafs 12
The Royals stranded one fewer runner than they had runs as they left 12 on base. Toronto also left 12 on base to equal its total of runs scored.
Both teams also scored three unearned runs.
The pitchers, especially the starters, also had trouble locating the strike zone. Guelph starter Nelson Mercado walked seven in three innings and Toronto starter Angel Castro walked six in five innings.
Toronto’s 12 runs came off eight hits and 15 walks.
The game was a see-saw affair with Toronto ahead 5-1 after three and a half innings and Guelph up 6-5 after five. Then Toronto scored three in the top of the sixth for an 8-6 lead and the Royals responded with four in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead, this time at 10-8. Three by the Leafs in the top of the seventh gave them an 11-10 lead and the Royals tied it with a run in the bottom of the seventh and went ahead with another run in the eighth. Toronto scored a run in the top of the ninth to set the stage for Guelph’s bottom-of-the-ninth heroics.
Dalton Pompey had two doubles and a single to lead Guelph’s 14-hit attack. Conner Morro hit a homer and a single while J.D. Williams hit two triples. Malik Collymore had a triple and a single and Darius Barlas had two singles. Sean Reilly and Noah Roberts each hit a double and Ethan Hammond drove in the winning run with a single.
All eight of Toronto’s hits were singles. Jose Vinicio, Justin Marra and Jordan Castaldo had two apiece while Aidan McAskie and Connor Lewis each had one.
The Royals stole five bases in the game while the Leafs stole two.
Mercado and Daniel Marquez pitched three innings apiece for the locals while Ben Reid threw two and Brandon Deans tossed one to get the win. Mercado yielded four earned runs off two hits and seven walks while Marquez surrendered five runs, three earned, off four hits and two walks. Reid was tagged for two earned runs off two hits and three walks and Deans gave up an unearned run off no hits and three walks. He had an adventuresome outing as he also recorded all three outs in the inning he pitched via strikeouts. Mercado and Marquez each had two strikeouts and Reid had one.
Castrol gave up six earned runs off six hits and six walks in five innings and had five strikeouts. Marek Deska gave up five runs, two earned, off five hits and a walk in two innings and losing pitcher Sam Greene yielded two earned runs off three hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. Greene had four strikeouts and Deska had three.
London Majors lead the league at 14-5 while the Welland Jackfish are second at 14-6 and the Royals are third at 13-7. They’re followed by the Barrie Baycats (12-9), Toronto (11-9), Kitchener Panthers (7-12), Hamilton Cardinals (6-12) and Brantford Red Sox (0-17).
Saturday’s game was the second one between the Royals and Leafs this week. The Royals won 4-1 at Hastings Stadium Tuesday.
The Royals and Leafs are to meet again Sunday at 2 p.m. at Toronto’s Christie Pits.
- Guelph Sports Journal
Royals win marathon match in bottom of ninth
GUELPH – The Guelph Royals struck for the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to edge the Toronto Maple Leafs 13-12 in a marathon Intercounty Baseball League game Saturday night at Hastings Stadium.
The Royals’ league-high seventh consecutive win came in a match that lasted three hours and 43 minutes.
Guelph Royals 13
Toronto Maple Leafs 12
The Royals stranded one fewer runner than they had runs as they left 12 on base. Toronto also left 12 on base to equal its total of runs scored.
Both teams also scored three unearned runs.
The pitchers, especially the starters, also had trouble locating the strike zone. Guelph starter Nelson Mercado walked seven in three innings and Toronto starter Angel Castro walked six in five innings.
Toronto’s 12 runs came off eight hits and 15 walks.
The game was a see-saw affair with Toronto ahead 5-1 after three and a half innings and Guelph up 6-5 after five. Then Toronto scored three in the top of the sixth for an 8-6 lead and the Royals responded with four in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead, this time at 10-8. Three by the Leafs in the top of the seventh gave them an 11-10 lead and the Royals tied it with a run in the bottom of the seventh and went ahead with another run in the eighth. Toronto scored a run in the top of the ninth to set the stage for Guelph’s bottom-of-the-ninth heroics.
Dalton Pompey had two doubles and a single to lead Guelph’s 14-hit attack. Conner Morro hit a homer and a single while J.D. Williams hit two triples. Malik Collymore had a triple and a single and Darius Barlas had two singles. Sean Reilly and Noah Roberts each hit a double and Ethan Hammond drove in the winning run with a single.
All eight of Toronto’s hits were singles. Jose Vinicio, Justin Marra and Jordan Castaldo had two apiece while Aidan McAskie and Connor Lewis each had one.
The Royals stole five bases in the game while the Leafs stole two.
Mercado and Daniel Marquez pitched three innings apiece for the locals while Ben Reid threw two and Brandon Deans tossed one to get the win. Mercado yielded four earned runs off two hits and seven walks while Marquez surrendered five runs, three earned, off four hits and two walks. Reid was tagged for two earned runs off two hits and three walks and Deans gave up an unearned run off no hits and three walks. He had an adventuresome outing as he also recorded all three outs in the inning he pitched via strikeouts. Mercado and Marquez each had two strikeouts and Reid had one.
Castrol gave up six earned runs off six hits and six walks in five innings and had five strikeouts. Marek Deska gave up five runs, two earned, off five hits and a walk in two innings and losing pitcher Sam Greene yielded two earned runs off three hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. Greene had four strikeouts and Deska had three.
London Majors lead the league at 14-5 while the Welland Jackfish are second at 14-6 and the Royals are third at 13-7. They’re followed by the Barrie Baycats (12-9), Toronto (11-9), Kitchener Panthers (7-12), Hamilton Cardinals (6-12) and Brantford Red Sox (0-17).
Saturday’s game was the second one between the Royals and Leafs this week. The Royals won 4-1 at Hastings Stadium Tuesday.
The Royals and Leafs are to meet again Sunday at 2 p.m. at Toronto’s Christie Pits.
- Guelph Sports Journal