Royals win slugfest over Leafs

TORONTO – After multiple lead changes and 35 hits between the teams, the Guelph Royals came out on top in a 15-12 win over Toronto on Wednesday night at Christie Pits.

Josh Garton went 4-for-6 with two home runs and five RBI for the Royals (8-4). He’s now tied with Chatham’s Seth Strong for the most longballs in the IBL.

Guelph teammate Garrett Takamatsu homered and drove in two, Brando Leroux went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs, J.D. Williams drove in a pair, Andy Leader singled twice, Marc Nellis and Keon Moseni each had three hits and an RBI, and Ryosuke Ohashi went 4-for-5 with an RBI, two runs and one of four Royals’ stolen bases.

Yomar Concepcion (1-0) earned the win with four innings of relief. He allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and four punchouts. Royals’ starter Brandon Deans was pulled with one out in the second inning after giving up five runs (four earned) on four hits with three walks and one strikeout.

Jordan Castaldo led the Leafs with two home runs and six RBI. He also scored four times atop the lineup. Johnathan Solazzo homered and drove in three, and Marcus Knecht added a solo blast. Justin Marra singled twice and scored, and Cole Murchison had a pair of hits and scored.

Julian Valdez (1-1) took the loss after he was touched for five runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings. He walked one and fanned two. Toronto starting pitcher Sam Greene exited after a scoreless inning in which he allowed a hit and struck out a batter.

The Leafs dropped to 6-10.