By Staff
TORONTO, ON. June 17, 2013 – Former Toronto Maple Leaf Kyle Morton had two hits, scored two runs and drove in another two as the last place Burlington Bandits snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Leafs Sunday afternoon at Dominico Field at Christie Pits in Intercounty Baseball League play.
Starting pitcher Connor Smith and reliever Alex Gale combined to scatter 10 hits as the Bandits (3-10) rebounded after losing to the Leafs 13-11 in Burlington on Saturday. Toronto (7-10) remains stuck in sixth place after losing two of three games this weekend.
After a sloppily played game on Saturday, the Bandits turned in a solid performance on Sunday, making several defensive gems and making the most of their seven hits. The Leafs on the other hand made a pair of costly errors and failed to get hits at key times.
Burlington took the lead with three runs in the fifth inning and were never headed after that, with Smith and then Gale providing some solid pitching.
Smith got the win going five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with one strikeout and one walk. Gale finished up and earned a save, also allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
Ryan Clarke, Peter Bako and Daniel Peake all drove in runs for the Bandits, with shortstop Phil Steer and second baseman Peake both turning in stellar defensive plays all afternoon.
Starter Adam Garner took the loss for the Leafs. He went five innings, allowing four runs – three earned – on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Conor Lillis-White allowed two runs on three hits over three innings in his Leaf debut and Drew Taylor pitched a perfect ninth.
Jon Waltenbury drilled a two-run homer and added a sacrifice fly for the Leafs, while Will Richards and Damon Topolie both added two hits for Toronto.
The Burlington Bandits travel to Barrie on Tuesday for a 7:30pm start before returning home on Thursday against the Hamilton Cardinals. Thursday marks Guaranteed Win Night at Nelson Park. If the Bandits happen to lose, all fans in attendance will receive one free general admission ticket for a future game upon exit.
As betting odds go, based on the team’s record – this is almost a sure win for the ball game watchers.
