IBL PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Leafs advance to second round

Photo by Dan Congdon

GUELPH – Jordan Castaldo and Garrett Takamatsu each drove in a pair of runs to lead Toronto into the second round of playoffs. 

The Leafs’ duo combined for three hits and three runs in a 10-4 Game 4 win over Guelph, which started Tuesday and finished Wednesday at David E. Hastings Stadium. 

Toronto won the best-of-five series 3-1 and will face Welland or Barrie in the semifinal, depending on the result of Kitchener and London’s deciding Game 5 on Thursday.

Jesse Hodges went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs for Toronto, while Jose Vinicio, Justin Marra, Johnathan Solazzo, Greg Carrington and Ryan Dos Santos all drove in a run. 

Wilgenis Alvarado went five innings for the win. He gave up four runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. 

Royals’ ace Claudio Custodio took the loss. He was touched for six runs on one hit and four walks in 1.2 innings just three days after throwing a complete-game shutout. He struck out one in Game 4. 

Custodio drove in three runs on three hits at the plate. Chris Robinson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. 

Panthers push series to Game 5

LONDON – Yadian Martinez and Yamichel Perez combined on a five-hit shutout to blank London 6-0 and keep the Kitchener Panthers’ season alive.

The best-of-five series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 set for Thursday at Kitchener’s Jack Couch Park. 

Martinez scattered three hits and struck out six over five innings on Tuesday. The game was suspended due to rain and resumed Wednesday, with Perez yielding two hits over four innings with four punchouts. 

Offensively, Marcel Lacasse hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to put the game away. Yunior Ibarra had an RBI and Andy Leader scored twice. 

Pedro De Los Santos took the loss for London. He went six innings and allowed two runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts. 

Tommy Reyes-Cruz doubled for the defending champion Majors.