DOWN 6-3, TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS RALLY FOR FOUR RUNS IN THE FOURTH INNING TO USURP THE CARDINALS IN THEIR EBA MOSQUITO SELECT LOOP SEASON OPENER AT CHRISTIE PITS
BRINGING DOWN THE CURTAIN > Clinging to a slender one run lead, TP Major Mosquito Select closer Charlie (9) struck out three Royal York batters in 1-2-3 fashion in the top half of the fifth inning to seal the deal on TP’s dramatic 7-6 comeback victory over the Cardinals at Christie Pits Diamond 2,
Under a crisp ceiling of immaculate skies, the Toronto Playgrounds Major Mosquito Selects edged the Royal York Boys 7-6 in 4 ½ innings of Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) Mosquito Select Loop action this evening at Christie Pits Diamond 2 to win their season opener.
With two runners on base and the game deadlocked 6-6, Michinari (9A) delivers a sacrifice hit that allowed Charlie (9B) to blaze home with TP’s winning run in the bottom of the fourth.
The proceeding was an entertaining and nail biting seesaw affair contested between two talented teams. In the end, TP rallied from a three run deficit in gritty fashion to take the lead and held back the pesky Cardinals in the final frame to take home the prize.
Trailing 6-3, TP scored four runs in the bottom half of the fourth to take a slender lead. After garnering a leadoff walk, Jack (6) swiped second to position himself into scoring position. As Jack brazenly slid into third with grand theft aplomb, the Royal York catcher’s throw to nab him sailed high and down the third baseline, allowing him to motor home with a run and trim the deficit to two.
Exercising patience at the dish, Guillermo (10), Eitan (19) and Finn (17) drew a trifecta combination of walks to load the bases. Charlie (9B) followed and hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Eitan at third, advanced Finn to second, and allowed Guillermo to come home to roost and cut the shortfall to one.
With one out, Finn and Charlie stole bases to advance respectively to third and second. At this juncture, the Cardinals uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Charlie to move to third and brought Finn homeward with the tying run.
Following a walk to Devon (33) that put two otters on the pond, Michinari (9A) delivered a sacrifice hit that allowed Devon to shuffle to second and brought Charlie home with the go ahead run.
With two outs, Royal York reliever Nikolas (11) would strike out the next TP batter to put the fire out.
Cool as a cucumber, TP reliever Charlie (9) stared down the heart of the Cardinals batting order in the top of the fifth and mowed them down in 1-2-3 fashion with three dramatic strikeouts to seal the deal on a hard fought victory.
[Additional game post and photos to follow…eventually.]