By Pepper Parr
August 7, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
They are going down like ten pins at a bowling alley.
The bottom three teams in the Inter County Baseball League may not win as much as a single game in the quarter finals the way the games are going so far.
The Barrie Baycats inched closer to the second round of playoffs with a 14-4 win over the Burlington Bandits at home Sunday night.
Barrie leads the best-of-seven quarter-final 3-0.
Jeff Cowan had four of the Baycats’ 17 hits and also drove in a run and scored four times. Glenn Jackson had three hits, four RBI and two runs, Branfy Infante singled, doubled and drove in two while scoring twice, Ryan Spataro singled and tripled and had four RBI, Jordan Castaldo had two hits and two runs, Kyle DeGrace had an RBI, and Conner Morro had a single, RBI and run.
Adam Rowe (1-0) threw six shutout innings and scattered five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.
For Burlington, Matt McCue had two RBI, and Robert Tavone drove in a run. Justin Gideon singled three times and scored once, and Nolan Pettipiece had two hits and a run.
Christian Hauck (0-1) went five innings and allowed eight runs (three earned) on 10 hits with two walks and no strikeouts.
In London the Majors moved one win from the semifinal after an 8-5 victory over the Guelph Royals Sunday afternoon.
London leads the best-of-seven quarter-final 3-0 and can wrap up the series on the road Tuesday.
Byron Reichstein had three of the Majors’ nine hits and drove in three runs while scoring once. Cleveland Brownlee had two RBI, Carloa Arteaga drove in a run and scored once, and Keith Kandel and Humberto Ruiz each had a hit and two runs.
Owen Boon (1-0) went five innings for the win, giving up two runs on seven hits, striking out four and walking two.
Ben Runyon picked up the last seven outs for the save, giving up two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.
Matt Schmidt and Keegan Marsden each had two run home runs for the Royals. Marsden added an RBI single. Chandler McLaren singled four times and scored once, and Aaron Loder picked up a pair of hits.
Daniel Marquez (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits over 5.2 innings, walking six and striking out one.
In Toronto, Brandon Dailey hit three home runs and drove in four to lead the Brantford Red Sox past the Toronto Maple Leafs Sunday afternoon.
Dailey homered to lead off the third inning and added a solo home run in the seventh and a two-run shot in the eighth as the Red Sox won 16-6 to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven quarter-final.
Ricky Murray singled, homered and drove in three, while Benjamin Bostick doubled, tripled and had four RBI and two runs. Chris Dennis drove in a pair of runs, Jeff Hunt added three hits, two RBI and two runs, Tyler Patzalek singled twice and had an RBI and run, Josh McCurdy had two hits and one run, and Nic Burdett singled, doubled and scored three times.
Jonathan Joseph went five innings for the win, allowing five runs on eight hits. Joseph struck out eight without issuing a walk.
Jonathan Solazzo had a two-run home run to pace the Leafs’ offence. Jon Waltenbury picked up three hits, two RBI and a run, Justin Marra singled, doubled and drove in two, Sean Mattson had three hits and a run, and Brendan Keys singled, doubled and scored once.
Marek Deska (0-1) lasted 3.2 innings and gave up six runs on eight hits with a strikeout.
While in Kitchener the Panthers beat the Hamilton Cardinals as Tanner Nivins continued his torrid start to the playoffs, hitting two home runs to lead the Kitchener Panthers to a 17-7 win over the Hamilton Cardinals Sunday night.
Kitchener leads the best-of-seven quarter-final 3-0.
Both of Nivins’ home runs were solo shots, and he now has four in three games. The Panthers leadoff hitter added a single to bump his average to .615 and also scored four runs. Mike Gordner had four singles, five RBI and a run, David Whiteside singled, doubled, scored three times and drove in two, Terrell Alliman had three hits, an RBI and run, Frank Camilo Morejon went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs, and Luke Baker had an RBI and scored once.
Matt McGovern (1-0) went five innings for the win, giving up six runs on five hits, striking out three and walking two.
For Hamilton, Liam Wilson, TJ Baker and Callum Murphy all homered. Wilson finished with three hits, two RBI and two runs, Baker’s blast was a three-run shot, and Murphy’s home run was solo. Dre Celestijn had two hits and two runs.
Rhys Tapper (0-1) took the loss, allowing eight runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings. Tapper walked six and didn’t record a strikeout.
2016 IBL quarter-finals
Series A
(1) London Majors vs (8) Guelph Royals
London leads series 3-0
Game 1: London 9, Guelph 4
Game 2: London 10, Guelph 0
Game 3: London 8, Guelph 5
Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m.
*Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at London; 7:35 p.m.
*Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Guelph; 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at London; 7:35 p.m.
Series B
(2) Kitchener Panthers vs. (7)
Hamilton Cardinals Kitchener leads series 3-0
Game 1: Kitchener 12, Hamilton 6
Game 2: Kitchener 6, Hamilton 2
Game 3: Kitchener 17, Hamilton 7
Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m.
*Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Kitchener; 7:30 p.m.
*Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Hamilton; 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Kitchener; 7 p.m.
Series C
(3) Barrie Baycats vs. (6)
Burlington Bandits Barrie leads series 3-0
Game 1: Barrie 6, Burlington 1
Game 2: Barrie 7, Burlington 3
Game 3: Barrie 14, Burlington 4
Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 9 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m.
*Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 11 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m.
*Game 6: Friday, Aug. 12 at Burlington; 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Barrie; 7:30 p.m.
Series D
(4) Brantford Red Sox vs. (5) Toronto Maple Leafs
Brantford leads series 2-1
Game 1: Brantford 9, Toronto 8 (10 innings)
Game 2: Toronto 6, Hamilton 5
Game 3: Brantford 16, Toronto 6
Game 4: Wednesday, Aug. 10 at Brantford; 8 p.m.
*Game 5: Friday, Aug. 12 at Brantford; 8 p.m.
*Game 6: Saturday, Aug. 13 at Toronto; TBD
*Game 7: Sunday, Aug. 14 at Brantford; 8 p.m.