LEADING 5-1, TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS WAS SIDESWIPED BY A SEVENTEEN RUN “AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILMENT” IN THE FINAL INNING THAT ALLOWED THE CARDINALS TO RALLY FOR THE WIN
TP Bantam Select Head Coach Casey Irwin calls a mound conference during the Bantam Selects seventeen run meltdown in the fifth inning.
Please click on the following link to access a BONUS Photo Collage from the 2013 TP Bantam Select Team Photo Session.
Underneath the lights on a pristine Spring evening at Dominico Field at Christie Pits, the Royal York (2) Cardinals upended our TP Bantam Selects 18-5 in five innings of EBA West Select Loop action.
Toronto Playgrounds was in control of the proceedings for 4 2/3 innings until the wheels inexplicably fell off in the final inning.
Birthday boy Reid (17) delivered a 2 run single for TP in the first inning. In three plate appearance, Reid went 1-2 (single, walk) with two runs scored and 2 RBI’s.
Backed by some solid defense, TP starting pitcher Sam (13) tossed a scoreless top half of the first as he kept the Cardinals offense from taking flight. The defensive highlight was a shoe string catch made by TP first baseman Reid (17) off a hot liner hit by Andrew (10) of the Cards for the second out.
The Bantam Selects jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With two TP runners on base, Reid stroked a one out 2 RBI single to bring Tyler (4) and Victor (23) home with the initial runs of the game. Sam (13) followed with a RBI double to score Reid.
TP reliever Cooper (8) threw a scoreless top of the second to keep Royal York off the scoreboard.
Royal York reliever Ryan (19) and his defense kept the Bantam Selects off the scoring ledger in the bottom of the second.
The Cardinals scored a run in the top of the third to trail 3-1. However, TP reliever Micah (9) and his defense prevented Royal York from cutting into their lead any further.
Toronto Playgrounds answered back with two in the bottom of the third to extend their advantage to 5-1. With one out and the bases loaded, Michael (6) delivered a RBI single to bring in Victor from third. Cooper followed with a fielder’s choice that allowed Reid to come home.
Aided by some strong defensive play from his teammates, TP reliever Victor pitched a scoreless top of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, Cardinals southpaw reliever KC (53) retired the Bantam Selects in 1-2-3 fashion with two strikeouts.
After a lead off walk by Royal York in the top of the fifth, TP executed a great 6-3 defensive play. With a Cardinals runner Matthew (34) at first, Ryan of Royal York hit a chopper to short. However, TP shortstop Victor vacuumed up the ball and made a laser throw to first baseman Reid to record the first out in a close play at first.
However, with two outs and the bases loaded, Toronto Playgrounds committed an error that allowed the Cards to score a run and trim the deficit to three. Unfortunately, the miscue opened up the floodgates to an inexplicable Royal York comeback out of the pages of the Twilight Zone.
Taking advantage of some timely hitting and a series of TP defensive lapses, the Cardinals proceeded to send fifteen more batters to the plate and score sixteen runs to take a commanding 18-5 lead. The Bantam Selects had to use three different pitchers in the inning before they could extinguish the flames and record the third out.
In a inning that was described as an “Amtrak train derailment” for TP, Royal York sent a total of twenty-one batters to the dish as they parlayed seven hits, six walks, five errors, two wild pitches and a passed ball into a miracle rally.
Cardinals reliever KC closed it out in the bottom of the fifth as he struck out two to seal the deal for Royal York and pick up the victory.
The Bantam Selects (1-4) play their next game at home on Friday, June 21 as they host Bloordale at Dominico Field at 7:30 p.m.