Cards Grounded By Leafs

Toronto wasted little time getting the jump on Hamilton in its first-round series, scoring early and often in a 21-6 win Thursday night at Christie Pits.

The No. 2 seed Leafs scored twice in the first inning and put the game away with nine runs in the second.

Sean Reilly and Garret Takamatsu each homered twice and drove in five in the victory. Reilly finished with five hits and scored four runs, while Takamatsu had four hits and three runs. Johnathan Solazzo went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and a stolen base, Marcus Knecht also had two hits, two RBI and two runs, Connor Lewis drove in three on two hits and scored twice, Chandler McLaren singled and scored twice, Justin Marra drove in two and scored three times, and Jordan Castaldo had an RBI and two runs.

Marek Deska (1-0) allowed three runs on six hits over six innings for the win. He walked two and struck out six.

For seventh-seed Hamilton, Ryan Burnside went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs, Josh Garton hit a solo home run, Jeremie Veilleux went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, Connor Bowie singled twice and drove in a run, and Justin Gideon had two hits.

Julian Tymochko (0-1) took the loss, giving up seven runs on four hits in 1.1 innings. He walked three and struck out one.

Hamilton will look to even the series at a game a piece on Friday night at CARSTAR Field at Bernie Arbour Stadium. Game time is 7:35pm. You can follow along with all the action courtesy of Skyway Broadcast Company on the Cardinals YouTube channel. Tickets for the game are available at SeatGIANT - Hamilton Cardinals Single Game Tickets (seatgiantevents.ca).

The Hamilton Cardinals are a member of Canada’s top baseball league, the Intercounty Baseball League. The 100-year old summer league is one of the oldest baseball leagues in the world, with the league established in 1919, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. For more information, visit www.iblcardinals.ca or follow the Cardinals on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @HamCardinalsIBL.