Luca Boscarino, Justin Marra, and Dan Marra each homered in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 11-3 win over the Barrie Baycats Friday at Dominico Field at Christie Pits to tie their IBL quarterfinal series at one.
The win felt like redemption for Toronto after losing game one Thursday due to a disastrous ninth inning. The vibe from Barrie's side was that the team felt lucky to win game one in retrospect.
Maple Leafs starter Franklin Hernandez turned in a quality start, allowing just three earned runs on five hits in six innings while striking out four. Meanwhile, Toronto saw the ball well out of the hand of Baycats starter Juan Benítez, who allowed eight hits, two walks and four earned runs in five innings while striking out two.
SERIES TIED 1-1
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | X | 11 | 6 | 1 |
RECAP
In stark contrast to Thursday, Barrie's offense was kickstarted early when Brandon Hernandez drove in his brother with a first-inning double.
However Toronto answered back in the bottom half of the inning when Ryan Dos Santos scored as Jordan Castaldo grounded into a double play.
RBI singles from Jhon Javier and Castaldo in the third inning made it 3-1. The pair finished with three and two RBI respectively. Javier went four-for-four and now has five for the series through two games.
In the fifth, Boscarino led off with a home run before Castaldo drove another in with a sacrifice fly.
Former Maple Leaf Chris Nagorski relieved Benítez in the sixth and allowed a homer to Justin Marra on his first pitch. After walking Spenser Ross, he allowed another home run to Dan Marra before letting two more reach and being taken out of the game.
Brad Grieveson entered and allowed a two-run single to Javier and later an RBI single to Justin Marra. Toronto batted 11 in the inning to take an 11-3 lead.
Barrie's offense came had tough luck at mutiple points in the game. In the second, Noah Hull singled but was doubled up after Clayton Keyes lined out to first. And in the eighth, Nolan Machibroda was robbed of his first hit of the playoffs after a diving catch by left fielder Benjamin Sitarenios who had just been inserted as a defensive replacement.
"They came through in the clutch with guys in scoring position, we fell short on a few different occasions," Baycats manager Josh Matlow said postgame. A few home runs here and there add up quickly, so it was tough to battle back."
The loss snaps Barrie's 11-game playoff win streak. It also guarantees this series will be the first between the two teams that won't be a sweep since a seven-game semifinal meeting in 2015.
"We've got to be locked in, we've got to stay consistent, we got to get to the next guy," Matlow added. "That next-man approach kind of thing... we haven't had many base runners, so it's hard for us to put action on and get guys moving."
UP NEXT
Game three is Sunday at Athletic Kulture Stadium. Cesar Rosado will start for Barrie, while Toronto's starter is yet to be officially announced.
AROUND THE INTERCOUNTY
WELLAND LEADS SERIES 2-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
GUELPH LEADS SERIES 1-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 0 |
 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 0 | 3 | 4 |
HAMILTON LEADS SERIES 2-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 3 |
 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | x | 10 | 9 | 1 |
