Majors-Leafs in winner-take-all Game 5

The London Majors will turn to ace Owen Boon in the deciding Game 5 Friday night at Labatt Park — with an IBL championship on the line.

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

And, so, it all comes down to this. 

A wild 6-5 come-from-behind win by the Toronto Maple Leafs – in 13 innings – Thursday night tied the best-of-five IBL Finals series at two games apiece and set up a deciding Game 5 – tonight – at Labatt Park. 

The winner will be crowned 2021 Intercounty Baseball League champion. 

If it’s the Majors, it’ll be the first time in 46 years (since 1975) that they’ve won a league title. Toronto last won in 2007. 

The teams match up well, and it’s truly anybody’s game, but you’d be forgiven if you felt that this Majors team, despite hitting a snag Thursday night, has destiny on their side. 

Besides the fact that it’s been so long, with so many close calls, and so many good teams over the years, there’s something special about this team. About this group of veterans – many of whom came back this summer after a couple of years away to take one last shot at a league championship. 

A wiped-out 2020 season, due to COVID, returned a group of hungry Majors ballplayers this summer, the time away providing them with perspective and a newfound appreciation and joy for the game. 

There was plenty of joy on Opening Night, as the Majors, the first sports team in the city to return to play following COVID lockdowns, won in convincing fashion, 12-1, over the very team – the Toronto Maple Leafs – they’ll face Friday night with a championship on the line. 

At the time, it had been 696 days since the Majors last played an official game at Labatt Park. Majors fans cheered on their boys of summer with enthusiasm. Including Owen Boon, the team’s Opening Night starter who cruised to a win and enjoyed a career-best season, leading the league in wins and strikeouts to help London win the IBL pennant with a 22-8 regular season record. 

Boon, the team’s ace, will now take the mound tonight at Labatt Park in the Majors’ final game of the season – win or lose. 

If you’re the London Majors, there’s no one you’d rather have start tonight’s winner-take-all game. They’ve saved their best for last, which is all you can ask for in a grueling playoff schedule where every game matters. 

The Maple Leafs managed to win Boon’s Game 2 start at Christie Pits, but the right-hander didn’t pitch poorly in the close game. In his last start against the Leafs at home, a regular season contest on August 27, Boon earned the win in a 5-1 Majors victory. In that game, London’s ace threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits while striking out five. 

A 6-4 win Tuesday night, which put London up 2-1 in the series, gave them two cracks to win the title. The first crack went to the Majors’ co-ace, Pedro De Los Santos, on Thursday night. And though the left-hander pitched well for six innings, the Leafs rallied from down 5-2 to tie things in the 8th at Christie Pits and send De Los Santos, a former Leaf, home without a win. 

Now, Boon gets the second crack. 

The Series So Far

IBL Championship Schedule: London Majors vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 

Game 1: London 4 Toronto 3 (at Labatt Park)
Game 2: Toronto 6 London 4 (at Christie Pits)
Game 3: London 6 Toronto 4 (at Labatt Park)
Game 4: Toronto 6 London 5 (13 innings) (at Christie Pits)
Game 5: Fri. Oct. 1 (7:35pm at Labatt Park)

How closely matched are these two teams? They’ve each scored 19 runs in winning a pair of games apiece in the IBL Finals so far.

In the five games they played during the regular season, London came away with three wins, while Toronto won twice.

Home Sweet Home

Every game in this series so far has been won by the home team, with the teams going back and forth with victories at their home parks. The Majors nearly broke that string Thursday night, but a comeback, 13-inning win by the Maple Leafs quashed that.

How good have the Majors been at home this year? They went 12-3 at Labatt Park during the regular season, for the best home record in the league. Three more home wins in the playoffs, including one against the Brantford Red Sox and a pair against the Leafs, has them at 15-3 in London in 2021. A 16th would make them IBL champions – for the first time in 46 years.

Projected Lineups 

A Chris McQueen injury, which forced him to leave Thursday’s game, could mean lineup changes for the Majors, but the teams’ lineups Friday night should look something close to the following … 

Toronto Maple Leafs: 

1. Jordan Castaldo 1B
2. Justin Marra C
3. Sean Reilly DH
4. Garret Takamatsu 2B
5. Marcus Knecht RF
6. Johnathan Solazzo 3B
7. Dan Marra SS
8. Chandler McLaren LF
9. Connor Lewis CF 

London Majors:

1. Chris McQueen 2B
2. Austin Wilkie CF
3. Humberto Ruiz LF
4. Byron Reichstein RF
5. Cleveland Brownlee DH
6. Hayden Jaco C
7. Adam Filmon 1B
8. Carlos Arteaga 3B
9. Keith Kandel SS